Grade: 92/100
When Ty Segall isn’t working on numerous collaborative projects with fellow musicians, he’s pushing his creative boundaries to new limits with his solo efforts.
“Manipulator”, Segall’s seventh studio LP, is no exception to this principle.
In fact, Segall’s latest musical outing may be the most ambitious title in the Bay Area rocker’s repertoire. The entire album sounds like the ultimate culmination of Segall’s past solo ventures. All of his past styles are present on “Manipulator” — from the psychedelic lyricism of last year’s “Sleeper”, to the raw electric bite of 2010’s “Melted”. All roads from Segall’s musical past have lead him to this point and he does not disappoint.
Segall is known for churning out quality albums like hotcakes, but Segall took a different approach to the creation of his latest album. In fact, the album took Segall 14 months to complete, which is longer than anything he has released in the past. And it seems that all of Segall’s hard work has paid off. “Manipulator” feels finely tuned. It truly sounds like Segall put effort into carefully structuring every song, planning every note until the album reached his own definition of perfection.
It is also notable to mention that Segall recorded every instrument himself on 16 out of the album’s total 17 songs, his live band joining him on only one of the songs. This is prime evidence of Segall’s painstaking dedication to crafting an album the reaches new heights far beyond what the garage rocker possibly expected. Musically, the album moves along at a steady and fluid pace, which only makes the waves of joyous, electric bliss that much more satisfying.
The album opens with the title track, “Manipulator,” which nicely sets the sonic psychedelic landscape and hints at what listeners can expect with this album: Donovan-esque vocals, fuzzy bass, reality bending guitars and drums that just make you want to move to the rhythm. Segall sets the pace of the album right from the first note and never breaks from it, with later songs that don’t really push the tempo of the album, but rather grow more powerful as the album progresses.
It is guaranteed that there is at least one song on the album that will make listener’s stop and go “Oh, wow…”, because with “Manipulator”, it feels like every song is given its time to shine.
My only complaint about “Manipulator” is that it didn’t release earlier in the Summer because it surely would have made the perfect addition to anyone’s Summer soundtrack. But with the more time it took to release the album, Segall only had more time to make it stronger. Now it will make the perfect addition to anyone’s fall soundtrack.
Ty Segall has always been revered on the garage rock scene, his past releases making him a household name to fans of the genre. But “Manipulator” ascends Segall to newer heights. It seems Segall is ready for the limelight and wants to break any previous notions people may have had about him. But with the release of his strongest material yet, he has made one thing clear this year: When it comes to rock, Ty Segall is king.’