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CD review: Ty Segall’s ‘Manipulator’

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Three stars

Ty Segall Manipulator

Could there be such a thing as too much Ty Segall? It’s never seemed like it before, even when the garage-rocking Californian was churning out records at a Robert Pollardian pace with his various projects in 2012 and 2013. Yet strangely, Manipulator, his first full-length solo album in a whole year, tests the limits. It starts out sounding like a classic, maybe Segall’s best work so far, with slinky standouts (“Tall Man Skinny Lady,” “Green Belly”) and psychedelic workouts (“It’s Over,” “Feel”) flying from the speakers in glorious succession. And then … fatigue sets in. Maybe it’s because this semi-heavy guitar-driven stuff—a hard right from the folky fare on predecessor Sleeper—works better in short bursts than 17-track pileups. Or maybe the second half’s writing simply isn’t as strong (with the notable exception of the fuzzed-out “Susie Thumb”). Segall might have been better off splitting Manipulator’s material in two and putting out a second disc next month. Not that he might not anyway.

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