Surgery Channel is the sophomore album from The C.I.A., the group formed in the late 2010s by modern garage rock hero Ty Segall, his wife Denée Segall and multi-instrumentalist Emmett Kelly of The Cairo Gang.
Recorded by Mike Kriebel at Segall’s own Harmonizer Studios, the record marks the follow-up to their 2018 self-titled debut. It finds Denée serving as the principal songwriter and vocalist, with Ty on bass, percussion and backup vocals, and Kelly on bass, synth and backing vocals.
Surgery Channel is the rare album that will either create turbo-charged mayhem on the party dance floor, or clear the room. Take “Construct,” which begins with what sounds like a broken drum machine and needling overdriven bass guitars,…
…before Denée Segall punctuates the noise with a string of single words, “Needle/ Image/ Guided/ Liquid/ Augment/ Hurting/ Reset/ Silent/ Ceiling/ Latex.”
…Imagine if Captain Beefheart were to join new wave band Berlin and together they recorded a version of “The Metro” on a dose of ayahuasca. Ty Segall and Kelly, a member of Segall’s backing band, The Muggers, strap on a pair of bass guitars that throb and grind over Ty Segall’s frenetic drumming.
The minimalist instrumentation doesn’t constrain the sonic experimentation. The album’s opener, “Introduction,” an amalgam of staticky and strange noises, most closely resembles the sound of tuning the car stereo while on a heroic dose of magic mushrooms. “Surgery Pt. II” begins with a churning sonic whirlpool of Butthole-Surfers-style noise before settling into a clamorous dirge.
Other songs offer slightly more structure. The album’s first single, “Inhale Exhale,” sounds a bit like The White Stripes with its pulverizing bass riffs (which at times are high-pitched enough to sound like overdriven guitars). Think Cibo Matto’s kitschy weirdness joined with the darker, noisier aesthetic of a band like Lightning Bolt.
Album highlights include “Impersonator,” which grooves with some catchy interplay between the bass guitars and Denée Segall’s vocals, and “Bubble,” which coats the grunge-like chug of The Melvins with Denée Segall’s sugary and spectral singing. “You Can Be Here” sounds like The Go-G0’s on quaaludes.
“You can’t stay here anymore,” Denée screams on “The Wait” with a vitriol that sounds a lot like teen punk sensations The Linda Lindas.
The most amazing moment on the album is the transition between the turbulent noise of “Construct” and the sparse beauty of “Under,” which features a single chord strummed on bass anchoring ethereal vocals from Denée, who repeats “up and under” over and over. Suddenly, a drum machine and grinding bass guitars interrupt the sumptuous musical moment as if beer-swilling knuckle draggers have arrived at the party.
Surgery Channel is not for everyone. The album’s vibe is more experimentally abrasive than much of Ty Segall’s catalog, but if you liked, Wasted Shirt, Segall’s 2020 collaboration with Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale, The C.I.A. will be music to your ears. For most other people, the album will function like nails on a chalkboard, and that’s part of its charm. — riffmagazine.com