Photographer: Denee Petracek.
Garage punk icon Ty Segall's influences run from vintage psychedelia to first-generation punk, but a thread that runs strong in his music is one that might not seem so obvious. Segall is a serious fan of T. Rex, Marc Bolan's band that evolved from spaced-out folk-rock to high-stepping glam-infused boogie, briefly becoming one of the biggest British acts of the '70s in the process. In 2011, Segall paid homage to T. Rex with the EP Ty-Rex, in which he served up scrappy, lo-fi versions of tunes from the T. Rex back catalog that ran Bolan's elemental, riff-dominated melodies through Segall's buzzy guitar style and sweetly sneering vocals. A playful and entertaining gesture from one musician to a fallen hero, Ty-Rex originally was released as a six-song EP, with Ty-Rex II, a single featuring two more T. Rex covers, following in 2015. In late 2015, Goner Records reissued Ty-Rex with the two tracks from Ty-Rex II, adding a cover of "20th Century Boy" as a bonus. ~ Mark Deming