Sego - “Wild Horses”

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 6

Pairs Well With…Nada Surf, OSEES, Ween

About a decade into their career, LA band Sego are still hard to pin down. A little woozy indie rock, a little intense post-punk, stoner rock riffs, electro-rock production - all this is not only found in Sego’s music, it’s committed fully and broadens their sound well beyond a garage rock core. While often loose and raucous, there’s a weird control over Sego’s sound that puts them forward as a band that can do anything. Beyond one-off singles and collaborations, it’s been four years since their last full-length Sego Sucks, so perhaps 2023 will target a proper follow-up for this wide-scoped band. (Kevin McStravick)

2015 Review: While mostly categorized as garage pop, Sego’s songs are complex, integrated efforts that understand catchiness without giving a vibe of caring too much.  That nonchalantness plays well into Sego’s songwriting, thematically based in days of carelessness and wonder.  “Wicket Youth” is the most direct example and the best song in Sego’s limited catalog - the band released their debut EP just this past October.  The pulsing bass and speak-sing edginess of “20 Years Tall” is on the side of the peak of Wicket Youth, experimentally weaved but with a head-bouncing gravitational force of a chorus.  Sego let their adventurous side take over from there, focusing less on pop melody and more on psychedelic mood shifts to wide and varied results.