We have two featured albums that went into rotation this week, the soundtrack from twee king Stewart Murdoch’s new film and the latest from garage king Ty Segall.
Stewart Murdoch – God Help the Girl
The soundtrack for Stewart Murdoch’s debut film is everything you’d expect from the frontman of Belle & Sebastian. God Help The Girl embodies all the twee charm of the Scottish indie band, but instead of the signature pipes of Stewart Murdoch, actors Emily Browning and Olly Alexander, amongst other actors, dominate the soundtrack. God Help The Girl follows a coming age story of three young adults: Eve, James, and Cassie. To cope with their own personal struggles, the trio strives for musical success with their band God Help The Girl. The soundtrack is made up of musical numbers from the film interspersed with instrumental pieces and dialogue between the characters. God Help The Girl is upbeat and fun with tracks like “I Dumped You First”, “God Help The Girl”, and slower and mellow with “Act Of The Apostle” and “Baby’s Just Waiting”. Overall, God Help The Girl is warm and whimsical, highlighting the best songwriting talents of Belle & Sebastian.
reviewed by Anna Anderson
Ty Segall – Manipulator
Ty Segall’s seventh album, Manipulator, has a very clear psychedelic influence while still highlighting Segall’s garage rock roots. The album is a departure from Segall’s usual chaotic sound, leaving behind most of the fuzz of his previous work. The guitar use in Manipulator has a definite 70s influence and has a much more clear sound than his last albums. The focus of this album lies in the instrumentation rather than the lyrics of any of the songs, as do most of his previous albums. Manipulator sounds as if it was plucked out of the 70s and dipped in a bath of garage rock.
reviewed by Sarah Guirguis