Harmonizer

Albumbeschreibung

It's been two years since the last Ty Segall record—which wouldn't be a big deal for anyone else, but we're talking about one of the most prolific musicians of this century (or any other time?). Segall has released 13 records since his start in 2008, not counting ones from his side projects Fuzz and GØGGS, the C.I.A. collaboration with wife Denée, live albums, EPs, cover albums, his production work, the Harry Nilsson and T. Rex tributes, or TV theme compositions. The slight lull hasn't really changed the direction of Segall, a stalwart of the modern California garage rock scene; you can still hear his primary influences on Harmonizer: delightful Skip Spence folk weirdness, Marc Bolan's melodic strut, Syd Barrett's acid damage.

While in the past Segall's been known to make the occasional acoustic turn (2013's Sleeper), this time it's cover-to-cover fuzz. (It's also not a mellow record like Goodbye Bread—no ballads allowed here.) There are echoes of Love's woozy-melody psychedelia on "Whisper," and Segall dips pretty faithfully into his garage-noise roots for "Feel Good," letting Denée take over vocals (she sings it like how some '60s futurist would have imagined a 21st-century robot sounding). "Erased" is positively hypnotizing—a warning siren blaring, tattoo drums and a crazy-heavy undertow. "Pictures" travels from freak-out to drone, with a breakdown of video game bloops in between. "Waxman" is '70s metal sludge cut through with blazing guitar, while "Play" sounds like it's borrowing (and deliciously warping) a guitar riff from Free. If that makes it seem all over the place, well, that’s what Segall does best, but there’s always a magical throughline that makes his songs feel like a collection of companions rather than disconnected strangers. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz