Tag: Ty Segall Harmonizer

Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 25 – 21

Let’s not waste time. Here are the records that cracked my top 25 (of over 60) that I reviewed last year.

#25: The Beths – Auckland, New Zealand, 2020

This delightful live album from The Beths is full of joy. The band was over the moon, the crowd was ecstatic, and daring to open with “I’m Not Getting Excited” was a gutsy move when everyone in the place was bursting with energy.

#24: Acid Dad – Take It from the Dead

Acid Dad were a band I’d heard a lot about, yet didn’t know much about them. I caught them live about an hour from my house and was sold within two songs. Take It from the Dead is a fine psych-rock record with touches of surf that make it a standout.

#23: Ty Segall – Harmonizer

Ty Segall added a bunch of synths and electronic beats to his already heavy fuzz rock, and the result, Harmonizer, was impressive. He showed his love for krautrock and even dance rock, and that he could pull off both genres as easily as psych jams.

#22: Morly – Till I Start Speaking

Easily one of the loveliest and sexiest albums of 2022, Till I Start Speaking is a great mix of Morly’s vocals, electro-beats, and synths. I hadn’t heard of Morly until this record was sent to me, and it was a pleasant discovery.

#21: Pearl & The Oysters – Flowerland

Speaking of lovely records, here’s another one. Bossa nova, disco, ambient, and house all merge together for an album as pretty and trippy as its cover.

Who makes the top 20? You’ll learn tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

[Why not start off the year by subscribing?]

Review: Ty Segall – Harmonizer

Released as a surprise to his fans and the world in general, Ty Segall‘s newest album, Harmonizer, has him embracing and exploring synthwave and krautrock after a forced-upon two-year hiatus (Screw you, pandemic!) from releasing new material – which, to the prolific Segall, must have felt like two decades.

Opening track “Learning” throws bright synths, processed beats, and 1980s keyboard blips together as an introduction to his new obsession. “Whisper” adds funky bass and scorching guitars to the mix as he sings about loss of identity through circumstances beyond one’s control (“Look into the mirror and see it. Who is it?”). The deep synths on “Erased” add even more menace to the dark lyrics about being drowned out in a sea of anger, rage, noise, and psycho-babble.

The title track blends the industrial synths and chainsaw guitars well and is another song about the complexities of language, communication, and the desire to be heard. It’s not hard to imagine this was how Segall was feeling during two years of not being able to tour or meet with his bandmates, let alone how a lot of us felt during the last election when fringe voices were given the forefront.

“Pictures” gets all sorts of synth-crazy for a while and then makes a right turn into synth-funk suitable for slow dances in a goth nightclub. Plus, the guitar solo on it is pretty damn cool. “Ride” introduces us to the character of Waxman, who is the subject of the following track and might be a frightening vision Segall had of his possible older years. It’s a heavy bass thumper that would probably melt wax if played at the right volume.

“All I want to do is play,” Segall sings at the beginning of “Play.” That probably sums up how he felt during self-isolation. It’s a neat cut to boot, flashing wild guitar and synth bass over a beat that hip hop DJs are probably stealing even now. “Feel Good” might be the most erotic track Segall’s ever written, and his wife Denée’s vocals on it are sexy yet distant. It’s a great post-punk track that sings of desire and lust but also tells you through its delivery that you might deserve neither. The album closes with the hopeful “Changing Contours” as Segall realizes that things might be turning around for him and the world (“And now it’s finally changing contours, and when I’m being, I am free. New perspectives seen. Now I’m breathing in all I see.”).

We shouldn’t be surprised that Segall recorded an album during lockdown, nor should we be surprised at how good Harmonizer is. The guy doesn’t seem to miss.

Keep your mind open.

[Harmonize your e-mail inbox with my blog by subscribing.]

[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]