Artist or Band Name
Sego
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Delivering art-punk grit laced with their raucous indie-pop buoyancy and a surreal alternative edge, LA's Sego go 'Direct To DVD' with their new album, out Monday, February 9.
With three full-length albums and a smattering of singles/EPs and compilations with labels such as Kitsune, Dine Alone, Roll Call Records, and more, Sego's output has garnered widespread acclaim. Highlights include praise from NPR, Paste and Consequence; European tours; festival appearances at SXSW, Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits; and a national Xfinity commercial airing during the Olympics and the Super Bowl.
Sego's allure extends beyond their dopamine-fueled anthems, where alt-rock riffs, synthesisers, drum machines, pop sensibility and playfully subversive lyricism twist expectations. From the IDGAF attitude and tongue-in-cheek #segosucks campaign that launched their sophomore album in 2019 to their latest move of sharing a direct mobile number so literally anyone can text them, the band consistently sidesteps convention.
What began as another Sego experiment has grown into a community of more than 5,000 contacts receiving personal updates when they roll through town. Text your name and city to +1 (323)-480-0500, and they'll hit you back next time they are heading your way. That instinct to operate differently is rooted in years spent living and creating together inside a Downtown LA studio warehouse.
So, it feels distinctively Sego to release an album titled 'Direct To DVD', a collection of both brand new and oddball tracks once sitting on the fringe, that can now hang about on a feature. Untethered from the expectations of a formal album cycle, each song is free to follow its own internal logic. That absence of obligation gives the tracks room to experiment, misbehave and land wherever they need to. Speaking on the album, Spencer (guitar/ vocals) states:
"'Direct To DVD' borrows its name from a format that once implied lesser value and flips it into a feature. These songs exist in the margins - where experimentation, humor, and risk tend to live without expectation. It feels like flipping through a box of tapes you forgot you loved: unfinished thoughts, alternate versions, and moments that matter precisely because they weren’t overthought. These are the songs that happen between albums."
Full of contrast, 'Direct To DVD' shifts between brightly polished, boisterous indie pop tracks and the ruckus of grunge rock. Siren-blaring hooks and smashing social commentary sit alongside artful production and moments of blown-out distortion, with synths, percussive textures and frenetic energy tying it all together. The record closes with Sego flipping their older material into laid-back EDM and house remixes from Mr. Tape and Mondo Cozmo, reinforcing their instinct to stretch each idea as far as it can go.
The album rewards longtime fans with familiar sounds drawn from every era of Sego’s catalogue, while newcomers are offered a wide-ranging introduction to everything the band have explored over the years.
Sego releases 'Direct To DVD' on Monday, February 9.
