Ty Segall:
Manipulator:
Drag City:
CD/LP/DD/K7:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
For what feels like the hyperactive songsmith's 25th album of the decade, Segall wields riff-tastic guitars and powers his way through over a dozen fuzzy-logical tunes. Yeah, yeah, so what, you all shout. Well actually, Segall lives up to the recent hype on this occasion with a pretty decent lo-fi rock album that might just stick in the memory more than his previous outings.
Like Beck, Temples, Kurt Vile and Tame Impala, Ty utilizes odd-ball beats, distorted pop and retro riffs to forge his own mildly-successful stamp on things. There's nothing ground-breaking on Manipulator that hasn't already been done to death before but it is, even with seventeen tracks, something of an enjoyable and pivotal release (actually his fifteenth since his self-titled debut in 2008). Actually, he may well make twenty-five albums in a decade at this rate but I doubt he'll better this one too often, if only due to burning out more than drying up.
The first few tracks are as different as chalk-and-cheese yet sit together perfectly. The title-track is simplistic rock and roll, Tall Man Skinny Lady is shrouded in a blisteringly funky psychedelic fug while The Singer isn't completely unlike his previous material, just warmer and replete with the occasional vocal falsetto for good measure. Much of the remaining portion of the album is highly listenable and memorable - Feel is a cracker and wouldn't sound amiss on a Byrds album of yore or at least mid-period Primal Scream, such are its psychedelic paisley-shirted chops, while the romping The Clock recalls The Soft Boys, early Bowie or Revolving Paint Dream.
Manipulator heralds a turning point in Segall's career - not only is this his first double-album, it's his first chart breakthrough in the UK, all of which may spell out plans for a proper tour to coincide with Manipulator's obvious live appeal. Take a Bow, Ty Segall - after several attempts, you've got your mojo back and created a quality album.
Manipulator:
Drag City:
CD/LP/DD/K7:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Like Beck, Temples, Kurt Vile and Tame Impala, Ty utilizes odd-ball beats, distorted pop and retro riffs to forge his own mildly-successful stamp on things. There's nothing ground-breaking on Manipulator that hasn't already been done to death before but it is, even with seventeen tracks, something of an enjoyable and pivotal release (actually his fifteenth since his self-titled debut in 2008). Actually, he may well make twenty-five albums in a decade at this rate but I doubt he'll better this one too often, if only due to burning out more than drying up.
The first few tracks are as different as chalk-and-cheese yet sit together perfectly. The title-track is simplistic rock and roll, Tall Man Skinny Lady is shrouded in a blisteringly funky psychedelic fug while The Singer isn't completely unlike his previous material, just warmer and replete with the occasional vocal falsetto for good measure. Much of the remaining portion of the album is highly listenable and memorable - Feel is a cracker and wouldn't sound amiss on a Byrds album of yore or at least mid-period Primal Scream, such are its psychedelic paisley-shirted chops, while the romping The Clock recalls The Soft Boys, early Bowie or Revolving Paint Dream.
Manipulator heralds a turning point in Segall's career - not only is this his first double-album, it's his first chart breakthrough in the UK, all of which may spell out plans for a proper tour to coincide with Manipulator's obvious live appeal. Take a Bow, Ty Segall - after several attempts, you've got your mojo back and created a quality album.