White Fence | For the Recently Found Innocent [Album Review]

There will be many mentions of how White Fence’s new album For the Recently Found Innocent was produced by Ty Segall, Tim Presley’s newfound partner in psychedelic crime. More noteworthy, though, is the mere fact that these songs were given the full studio treatment. Innocent… is Presley’s fifth album, but it’s his first solo effort to feature studio polish, such as live drumming. The album is cleaner and, with less of the bedroom fuzz and crackle, perhaps a bit less uniquely White Fence. But much of Presley’s trademark style remains. On album standout “Wolf Gets Red Faced”, Presley jerks you in all directions, starting with a low organ chord, then bursting into a rollicking guitar lick, and slowing to a near halt before easing into some light guitar strumming, all within 30 seconds. It seems all over the place, until some of these elements emerge as motifs that anchor the track, the longest on the album. As on other records, Presley throws a lot at you—a high pitched “la la la” here, an LSD-induced 90 degree turn there—but he is no stranger to structure, and more often than not, leaves plenty to find in all of the tangles.