Reverse Shark Attack

Garage rockers Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin first paired up in 2006, when they started the mighty Epsilons in Southern California. They still play and record together, as likeminded souls who share a serious affection for volume, fuzz, and fun. Reverse Shark Attack is a bit like busting into their private clubhouse uninvited; you wonder if you should stay and lurk or let them get into their weirdness undisturbed. Many of the tracks feel like an inside joke, or a demon they both needed to exorcise—especially the title track, which flirts with surf riffs, psychedelia, Beatles beats, folksy plunking, and eardrum-splitting distortion for a 10-minute-plus wild ride. "I Wear Black" is pushed and pulled by skronking electronics and a plodding 4/4 beat, all wrapped in a coat of prickly fuzz and grime about as comfortable as a horse-hair shirt. And those are just the bookends. In between, they bury Beach Boys–style melodies, strangle organ notes, let loose throat-ripping howls, and serve up glorious punk riffage with enough reverb to vibrate Cali right into the Pacific. "Take Up the Stethoscope and Walk" is an early Pink Floyd track, surprisingly faithful to the original.