Freedom’s Goblin is that good. And it’s that much. At 19 tracks and 75-ish minutes long, it’s a sure-footed expedition through Segall’s sprawling world of influences and interests, from psych, garage rock, pop and punk to soul, hard funk, heavy metal and beyond. And somehow, despite the run time and the diversity of sounds, Freedom’s Goblin never wanders for long.
All in all, Freedom’s Goblin is a bit of a corker really, with very little for your humble reviewer to grumble about. It should satisfy fans of classic rock, metal and the discerning alternative connoisseur in equal measure.
Freedom’s Goblin is a kaleidoscopic mess, brilliant and sloppy all at once. This is a good thing — the tortured genius of nearly mythological status lays all he has to offer out on the table, and the end result is one of guitar-rock’s finest achievements in the 21st century.
On Freedom’s Goblin, the tuneful sensibility that Segall has been nurturing since 2011’s Goodbye Bread fully blossoms into sky-high hooks and rich, resonant lyricism, all while keeping his primordial spirit intact.
It's a bold move to put out so much music in one go, but Freedom's Goblin is sure-footed enough to warrant to such a splurge.
Freedom’s Goblin is unapologetic in its kind of just being a loosely curated playlist of fully-developed ideas. It resembles a best-of collection spanning unreleased tracks from Segall’s recent output.
You could boil Freedom’s Goblin down to “rock,” but the 19 songs offer 19 flavours of the genre – a testament to how many delicious recipes you can still make out of vocals, guitar, bass and drums (and, in this case, a dollop of horns).
If he wasn't there already, Freedom's Goblin puts Segall in the very top flight of late-'teens rock contenders.
Freedom's Goblin cuts open Segall's brain and lets it all ooze out. Serve yourself up a spoonful of all that melodic goo, and enjoy.
On paper an album of this size and scope should—at the very least—be occasionally frustrating and bloated. Freedom's Goblin, however, is skillfully elevated by Segall's constant sense of joy and inscrutable knack for penning genuine earworms.
Much of the time, Freedom's Goblin plays like Ty Segall's version of the history of rock & roll as seen from his perspective, and it's as idiosyncratic and exciting as you would expect. It's also some of the very best music Segall has given us to date, essential for fans and strongly recommended to curious newcomers.
Arguably more flawed than Segall‘s best efforts, the album nonetheless impresses with a convincing and involved collection of songs which certainly never risk boring the listener ... ‘Freedom’s Goblin’ remains surprisingly engaging throughout and offers a huge amount to dig into for long-term fans whilst still managing to offer an, admittedly unwieldy, introduction to Segall‘s multi-faceted musical approach to newcomers.
Despite the obvious trimming that could be done around the belly, Freedom’s Goblin is still a worthwhile beast to take on.
Freedom’s Goblin finds Segall at ease within his established aesthetic to the point of giddiness.
A bloated record for sure, but without question one of Ty's most thrilling and versatile releases
8/10
exceptional
Fav tracks: <all songs except Cry Cry Cry, Meaning, You Say All The Nice Things, The Last Waltz, Prison, Talkin 3, I'm Free, 5 Ft. Tall>
Freedom’s Goblin is easily Ty’s most flexible record, and it’s also a blast, it draws you in with a colourful scheme and ray of influences and ideas, but behind it is also Ty being himself in the best way possible, and he really does himself to be showing his influences. With Ty being a prolific artist, the way everything in this album tangles all together makes it such a great listening experience, while at times it could feel like a compilation album, the final song And, ... read more
Ive finally listened to this album after constantly pushing it back. Id say this is tys best album which may be a bold statement after only one listen but i was never bored and most tracks kept me engaged to the end. I think there were only two or three moments that lost me and not all ideas clicked with me on a first listen but for the most part i was cruising along with this album. It was definately more consistent than something like manipulator which had too many duds for me to consider it ... read more
1 | Fanny Dog 3:39 | 85 |
2 | Rain 4:05 | 85 |
3 | Every 1's a Winner 4:18 | 91 |
4 | Despoiler of Cadaver 3:52 | 100 |
5 | When Mommy Kills You 2:47 | 100 |
6 | My Lady's On Fire 3:52 | 93 |
7 | Alta 4:07 | 95 |
8 | Meaning 3:06 | 90 |
9 | Cry Cry Cry 3:12 | 80 |
10 | Shoot You Up 3:20 | 100 |
11 | You Say All the Nice Things 4:22 | 85 |
12 | The Last Waltz 2:24 | 65 |
13 | She 6:22 | 90 |
14 | Prison 1:06 | 60 |
15 | Talkin 3 2:02 | 75 |
16 | The Main Pretender 2:59 | 90 |
17 | I'm Free 2:42 | 80 |
18 | 5 Ft. Tall 4:33 | 95 |
19 | And, Goodnight 12:02 | 100 |
#3 | / | Uncut |
#8 | / | Digital Trends |
#17 | / | Drift |
#17 | / | Q Magazine |
#24 | / | Far Out Magazine |
#38 | / | MOJO |
#40 | / | Earbuddy |
#42 | / | Gigwise |
#46 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#55 | / | Fopp |