Manipulating Success

Ty Segall’s new album Manipulator, harkens back to the bygone days of the sixties and seventies, calling up visions of mad dancing and drugged out psychedelic swirls of colors. Manipulator’s sound is reminiscent of early David Bowie and Pink Floyd with dashes of Cheap Trick, Moody Blues, Bachman Turner Overdrive and Wolfmother for flavor.

The album’s songs mesh very well together. The progression is good, but can nonetheless make it a little hard to tell the tracks apart. Garage rock songs with grinding distortion and crunching guitar sounds flow into rhythmic acid rock ballads seamlessly, if a bit repeatedly. This is does not apply to every song though; here are the ones that stand out:

Manipulator- The opening and title song on the album stretches the word ‘Manipulator’ into an oddly catchy five syllable hook and sets the scene for the crooning swirl of sound that permeates the rest of the tracks.

The Singer– Opening with a riff that would not be out of place in a Green Day song, this track builds into a lush intoxicating ballad.

It’s Over– Built over a throbbing bass line, this catchy song is easy to sing along and rock out with.

Feel– Segall’s heady vocals make a great contrast to the hard-hitting guitars, and the bluesy bass and drum lines.

The Crawler– Driving guitar riffs swathed in fuzzy distortion and coupled with dipping and diving vocals to make a rockin’ song that tips its hat to garage and punk rock.

Segall will be touring with the album, though the closest he will get to Northern California is LA. So if you’re visiting the City of Angels between the 28th and the 31st, be sure to catch his show at the Echo with bands Meatbodies and Birth Defects.

Manipulator will be released next Tuesday the 26th and will be available on vinyl, CD, cassette and MP3. This album is fun, interesting, and in a time when the 70’s are back on top of the charts with the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, Ty Segall brings that era back with a modern flair.