Ty Segall | Sleeper [ALBUM REVIEW]

Here's the question that Ty Segall's newest album Sleeper must address: having released at least one proper album a year for five years straight—not to mention a constant stream of EPs, collaborations, compilation appearances, live albums, side projects, etc.—do we need a new Ty Segall album? Especially when it arrives a mere six months after the last? Segall's strategy to combat listener fatigue in his audience is to mix things up this time around, and so on Sleeper ditches the usual fuzz and squall and instead delves into full on acoustic troubadour-mode. Sometimes bluesy - “She Don't Care”, at times dreamy and melancholic - title track “Sleeper”, and only occasionally thrashing – “The Man Man”, Sleeper sounds a lot like Tyrannosaurus Rex, of whom he's devoted two covers EPs. Lyrically, he's less intent on celebrating the joyful abandon of youth, instead honing in on a vibe of exhaustion, disillusionment, and subtly creeping dread. He's bummed out, maaan. Is this Segall starting to show his age? Perhaps. Or maybe he just figures that after all we've heard from him, it's time to give us something different.