The C.I.A.

The C.I.A. unites vocalist Denée Segall with her husband Ty Segall, the prolific garage-punk musician, and Emmett Kelly, a member of Ty’s touring ensemble as well as the Cairo Gang. Drum machines and synthesizers function as sonic weaponry alongside a dual-bass assault that tugs against Denée’s vocals, which shift between coaxing persuasion and headlong propulsion. Across their two full-length releases—the self-titled debut from 2018 and Surgery Channel from 2023—the trio fuses early synthwave textures with skewed garage-punk energy.

Initial public appearances came in 2018 through a limited series of live performances, where attendees could purchase a cassette-only EP pressed in small quantities. That EP contained four original compositions plus a version of “Magazine Love,” originally by the Screamers. December brought the band’s first proper album on In the Red Records, marking the sixth record Ty Segall issued that year. Subsequent seasons found the members occupied with individual projects and additional partnerships, delaying further activity until January 2023, when Surgery Channel arrived once more via In the Red. The follow-up softened the debut’s harsher edges, favoring a more shaded palette that remained assertive yet less immediately confrontational.