Rating: 4 / 5 stars
It is been 10 years since California garage rocker Ty Segall began his solo career. The quality of his music has been so consistent the past decade, listeners are almost waiting to see when he finally releases a flop. “Freedom’s Goblin” will delay that opportunity for at least another year as Segall continues his decade-long creative tours.
Segall puts forth his first double album with the help of his backup band known as “The Freedom Band” who played with him on his last album. The band includes longtime collaborators Mikal Cronin (bass guitar) and Charles Moothart (drums, percussion), as well as Emmett Kelly (guitar) and Ben Boye (piano, Wurlitzer.)
The album’s opening track “Funny Dog” starts off the party with a loud burst of sound that will wake the listener and grab their attention. The sound of a trumpet works its magic in providing an interesting splash of creativity.
“Rain” changes up the pace with a slow-moving piano riff. Eventually Segall’s vocals, as well as a brass section, find their way into the mix. The drone guitar solo toward the end of the song definitely helps give it some more depth.
“Every 1’s A Winner 0” brings things to a much more guitar and fuzz-heavy place, reminiscent of some of Segall’s side projects “The Googs” and “Fuzz.”
“Despoiler of Cadaver” provides a very interesting LCD Soundsystem-esque electronic dance track. With this track, it becomes clear that Segall is looking to flex his creative versatility as he did on his self-titled album a year ago.
Despite its dark and twisted title, “When Mommy Kills You” is actually a fun track with a catchy yet fuzzy guitar riff and some smooth harmonies. The mixture of garage rock with a subtle hint of pop makes for a familiar Segall track.
“My Lady’s On Fire” opens up with folky mellow sound that has a strong Bob Dylan feel before promptly breaking into a more upbeat tempo that makes good use of a subtle electric guitar.
As with the previous track, “Alta” starts off slow and soft before exploding into action. It is perhaps one the better overall tracks on the album thanks to great guitar work and vocals.
“Meaning” follows a similar formula as the previous, but does not offer much else than the opening sounding similar to that of WAR’s “Lowrider.”
“Cry Cry Cry” breaks the mold by carry in a relaxed vibe while highlighting an exceptional slide guitar and reiterating the exceptional vocals that have been a theme throughout the album.
Sitting in the middle of the album is “Shoot You Up,” which is where it belongs. Not that it is a bad song, but it seems to rehash the heavy fuzz guitar sound that has been heard enough and has no other qualities that jump out.
“You Say All The Nice Things” is not much to write home about until the end when a smooth guitar lick slips its way in and leads into the outro nicely.
Even though it contains some sad lyrics, “My baby died with no tears in her eyes,” ‘The Last Waltz’ still manages to be reminiscent of a circus or carnival thanks to its weird sounds.
As the album reaches the home stretch it finally manages to start sounding a little repetitive.
Songs like “She,” “Prision,” “Talkin 3,” “The Main Pretender,” and “Free” bounce back and forth between fuzz, brass, acoustic elements that are well known at this point.
The album becomes exciting again by the end with “5ft Tall.” Containing multiple tempo shifts as well as all the good qualities found within the album rolled into one song, it deserves to be called another standout track.
Wrapping things up is perhaps the most interesting and longest track the album has to offer. “And, Goodnight” starts off as what seems to be a long jam track to end the album. Then, out of nowhere, the title track from Segall’s 2013 album “Sleeper” starts playing and continues to fade in and out throughout the rest of the song.
Overall, Segall has put out another great album. Its an absolute creative work of art as the musician continues to be more experimental and try anything and everything to diversify his sound.
Photo provided by Juan Bendana (goo.gl/Vsqu2z)
