Over a span of eight years, Ty Segall has released nine albums: eight solo productions and one with the Ty Segall Band. With such a volume of work, casual listeners can’t keep up with both Segall’s rapid-fire releases and his continuously evolving sound.
Having polished his style with the 2014 release “Manipulator,” “Emotional Mugger” is another step forward for Segall, although he maintains the lo-fi, ’70s charm of his first few releases.
The album title was cryptically explained in a video posted on Segall’s YouTube channel in November, parodying pharmaceutical and medical television commercials. Here, Segall, donned in a lab coat with clipboard in hand, defines Emotional Mugging, or EM-ing, as a “non-verbal, and non-physical emotional exchange.”
The album’s title track, “Emotional Mugger/Leopard Priestess,” expands upon this, comparing the modern way of life to using a candy vending machine; people mindlessly spend money and receive some form of pleasure in return.
References to candy are prevalent in nearly every track, which serves as Segall’s metaphor for manipulative, artificial and pacifying aspects of life.
In addition to this theme of indulgence, many tracks feature some manner of mind-scrambling guitar and vocal effects, inducing a brainwashing sensation. Some tracks are intended to mess with the listener, establishing a surreal and disorienting mood.
High-octane tracks, like “Diversion” and ”Candy Sam,” rock hard enough to knock the listener out of his seat and into a sweaty, screaming crowd. Meanwhile, the mellow, ethereal “California Hills” features Segall talking to himself. He switches back and forth between dreamy and guttural vocals while the chill rhythm is disrupted by chaotic bursts of instrumental activity. The chaos eventually takes over the vocals, as the song devolves into pure cacophony.
At times, “Emotional Mugger” exhibits inspiration from John Lennon and Frank Zappa, among other musicians.
The album’s strengths ultimately reside in Segall’s ability to blend the classic sounds and tones of such iconic musicians with his personal modern take on psychedelic rock. While the new year is still young, “Emotional Mugger” could make an appearance on a number of alternative “Best Of 2016” lists by the end of the year.
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