All the Segall basics remain: mildly psychedelic retro-rock with nods to noisy, proto-metal riffage and frizzy folk. But they’ve been more clearly separated, delineated, and enhanced. Even the quiet songs like the Syd Barrett-esque “Don’t You Want To Know? (Sue)” and the silky, funky “Mister Main,” sound assertively swaggering and loud; the loud songs sound simply colossal. “The Crawler” writhes on a hotbed of distorted fuzz, while “Susie Thumb” sports a beehive of dueling, blown-out guitar solos straight out of a Blue Cheer jam session. Segall’s voice is supple and taunting, dipping from pastel-painted daydream to Technicolor fever-dream without a stutter.
What’s strikingly new is the way Segall has punched up and sharpened his quirks and quizzicality. This is Segall in HD, and all the nuances make for a more vivid, yet at times more plastic, listening experience. The album’s title track says it all. “I used the telephone / To sneak inside your home,” he sinuously croons. It’s an infiltration, if not an outright insurgency. With Manipulator, it’s official—Ty Segall is the next Josh Homme, a purveyor of underground-spawned, arena-ready rock anthems for a world that just can’t give up on such a titillating oxymoron. How far Segall is willing to tweak himself next time around remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: The gloves are off, and he’s ready to polish.
