Music Review // Sego "Direct To DVD"
There is something so satisfying about listening to a band for the first time, having them feel both familiar and new at the same time, and then having the name of album tie together with the sound so perfectly as well. In an age of Blu-Ray and streaming, will people understand what "Direct To DVD" even means? When I was a kid we even had "straight to video" and perhaps the movies I remember this most applying to were Disney sequels. But there is definitely something missing from similar concepts currently because even if you didn't enjoy "The Return Of Jafar", at least it was something you could have and hold onto.
At first, I can hear a lot of what makes artists such as Beck and Cake so great come out in this sound of Sego. Into the second song- "SAD"- I can hear some of those cinematic elements like you might hear in a band such as Muse. This idea of Sego being radio friendly in a similar way to these aritsts, though not being full on pop rock, is also what makes these songs so great. They are easily accessible in the way that you could play this for people who have never heard it before and they could quickly fall in love with it as well. But, at the same time, it will still take a few listens before you can sing along.
When listening to the song "Shook", one of my favorites on here, I can hear these elements of the Rolling Stones, Polyphonic Spree and Flaming Lips. It has that sort of broad, almost experimental way about it, yet it can stay close enough to home that you don't feel left out. This is not something which is easy to do in any form of art, but Sego just makes it feel as if it was what they were born to do: bring in listeners, engage with them, take them on adventures across galaxies, but make it feel as if we never really left home. More of these big world notions come out in "Exposure", which can feel a bit like And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead.
With all of the flat out solid rock n roll sounds on this album, Sego just shows how "Direct To DVD" is more than just music. Right now, in 2026, there are still films which are released direct to DVD, they just happen to be mainly made by independent film makers. That just speaks so much about the state of music, record labels and physical releases. Sego actually even has this album available on CD, with the disc being inside of an upcycled DVD case. This just goes along with the sound, in the sense that it's new and innovative while not being wasteful- everything with its absolute purpose and intent.
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