[rating=9.00]
When the prolific Ty Segall spends 14 months recording an album, it makes a statement. Manipulator is Segall’s seventh LP in seven years. Considering all of the side projects in which Segall has laid a hand, it seems that he is always releasing an album while spending little time in the studio creating one. With Manipulator, however, it’s different. Segall took more than a year crafting the album, experimenting with virtually every sound and theme he could think of incorporating into an album. The resulting release is the best of Segall’s career, a double-album that refines all of the talent he had shown in the past.
The title track opens Manipulator with an acid rock vibe, trippy keyboard lines and fuzzed guitar riffing setting the tone. The song serves as an introduction to the epic album in much the same way the Beatles did with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
From there, Segall explores a kaleidoscope of sonic imagery. At times the picture comes into focus, as with the simple folk strummer “Green Belly” or the filthy garage rock of “Connection Man.” Most of the time, however, Segall’s music is found in mid-shift, a variety of distinct styles blending together to form an indistinct and yet wholly unique new form. “The Singer” sounds like a 1950’s pop-rock slow-dance number but there is a hint of menace in the subtle distortion. The earworm “The Hand” pairs jangling acoustic strumming with dirty power chords caked in grime. Dynamic shifts in tempo propel the infectious acoustic number “The Clock.” Segall even makes a brief foray into jazz-funk with “Mister Main.”
Segall’s vocals aren’t great in the classical sense but serve well as an additional musical instrument, his voice setting the tone alongside bass, guitar, drums and keys. There’s a sense of distance in his voice, a hinted pain that seeps through the cacophony of layered music. In the loud rock moments, Segall attacks with a punk rock intensity, his tone as dirty and raw as anything Jack White has recorded. In particular, “The Crawler” has the perfect sound for a violent mosh pit or at least for breaking random things in your house (listen with caution). In the quiet moments, Manipulator sounds like a soundtrack for a relaxing picnic in the park.
Every trick Segall pulls out in Manipulator is one he has employed before. This time, however, there is a new emphasis on synergy. Each of the 17 tracks forms a cohesive collection. Though rife with soaring guitar solos, angry guitar riffing, unexpected string sections, and various musical idiosyncrasies, no one aspect of Segall’s music ever takes the focus away from the collection as a whole. As such, Manipulator rises above the temptation to provide various catchy moments and instead combines a multitude of hooks into an entire album that is solid from start to finish.
