Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 29
  2. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. Jan 22, 2016
    91
    Segall has such control of the chaos on Emotional Mugger that once you’ve reached the halfway point you’ll realize that you were never doubting him--because as he’s developed as a songwriter, he’s grown more adventurous and even more dependable. The bigger the catalog, the better.
  2. Jan 21, 2016
    90
    To call Emotional Mugger a celebration of excess, as sweet as it is, would miss the mark. (Although it’s no veiled warning, either--it enjoys itself too much.) No, this is a bender with an undercurrent of anxiety.
  3. Alternative Press
    Jan 8, 2016
    90
    Prepare to be blown away.... Emotional Mugger is an out-of-this-world psychedelic venture meant to be listened to--and listened to very loud. [Feb 2016, p.98]
  4. Magnet
    Feb 12, 2016
    85
    Though there’s nothing too saccharine on Emotional Mugger (even the line “I want your candy” on “Breakfast Eggs” is more of a threat than a statement of desire), the melodies are some of the strongest Segall has ever turned out. [No. 128, p.56]
  5. Jan 19, 2016
    85
    He's at his strangest, loud, absurd best. With his ninth studio album under the Ty Segall guise alone since 2008, he both parodies and masterclasses modern day garage rock.
  6. Jan 20, 2016
    84
    This album is yet another testament to that seemingly insatiable desire for provoking, for poking and for pulling the wool over the eyes of his audience.
  7. Feb 1, 2016
    80
    Throughout Emotional Mugger’s 39-minute runtime, Segall is comfortably out of step, abandoning the pop refinement of Manipulator to creative self-sabotage with some of the more album’s more electrified moments, which, while highlights, don’t constitute the bulk of the album.
  8. Jan 28, 2016
    80
    Here's a record that shows an innovative appropriation of sound that makes for one of the most exhilarating and original albums he's ever done.
  9. Jan 22, 2016
    80
    Emotional Mugger is a wild-eyed beast of a record; unafraid to stamp through the effects pedals with a delirious glee.
  10. Jan 21, 2016
    80
    After a few listens, hidden melodies reveal themselves and easy-listening bass lines guide you through the ruckus. Or rather, you get used to the disorder and appreciate the songs for what they are: weird experiments from a prodigal songwriter.
  11. Jan 20, 2016
    80
    There's nothing mild about Emotional Mugger; it has an overwhelming sense of madness, but it's addictive nonetheless.
  12. Jan 19, 2016
    80
    It overcomes the safe. Emotional Mugger proves it’s still possible to evolve as an artist within the relatively limiting framework of rock traditionalism, even if the answer is to crank everything up to new extremes, give way to violent stylistic mutation, and completely deconstruct whatever’s comfortable.
  13. Uncut
    Jan 8, 2016
    80
    Emotional Mugger is as funky as it is twisted--a heavy rock record that truly groves in a way that heavy rock rarely does any more. [Feb 2016, p.85]
  14. 75
    The main two highlights are the strutting “Mandy Cream” and the bass-heavy closer “The Magazine,” with rapid-fire handclaps coming in during the choruses and a sustained falsetto melody recalling Yes’ “We Have Heaven.”
  15. Jan 20, 2016
    75
    Segall’s output over the last decade is proof that making music is truly its own reward for some artists, and over the course of 11 songs and 38 minutes, Mugger epitomizes that passion like no album of his before it.
  16. Jan 19, 2016
    73
    Emotional Mugger still feels transitional--either the moment before he tucks in and gets way weirder or another stepping stone before he switches gears all over again.
  17. Jan 27, 2016
    70
    Despite at times being muddled, Segall is not afraid to stand up and confront the audience, evoking the most visceral of feelings and pushing the boundaries of comfort. Divisive, but all the more brilliant for it.
  18. Jan 27, 2016
    70
    Emotional Mugger is a stiff shot of raw, cocky joy that hits its target beautifully.
  19. 70
    It's hard to analyze Segall's music without thinking about his reputation as a studio rat, but Emotional Mugger is an enjoyably warped deconstruction of buzzy guitar rock.
  20. Jan 20, 2016
    70
    Emotional Mugger is a nastier street-punk version of his Manipulator approach, with a touch of Royal Trux sleaze in the low-end guitar sludge, running the conceptual gamut from "Squealer" to "Squealer Two."
  21. Jan 20, 2016
    70
    Sonically, Emotional Mugger lands somewhere between all of these records [Manipulator, II, and Ty-Rex], maintaining the cohesion and (relatively) streamlined arrangements of Manipulator but nodding to the scuzzy ’70s hard rock of the latter two and Segall’s trademark haywire, lo-fi garage.
  22. Apr 28, 2016
    67
    Time signatures change gears with neck-snapping regularity, underpinned by Cronin's Krautrock bass, and a Devo-esque "concept" involves Segall as a masked, Booji Boy-ish character named Sloppo.
  23. 67
    Although Emotional Mugger isn’t a bad record--Segall probably doesn’t have one of those in him--it’s among his weakest releases yet.
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 48
  2. Negative: 3 out of 48
  1. Jan 25, 2016
    2
    What a massively disappointing follow up to the brilliant Manipulator. Segall may be a prolific album maker but quantity and quality don'tWhat a massively disappointing follow up to the brilliant Manipulator. Segall may be a prolific album maker but quantity and quality don't always go together as this offering proves in my humble opinion

    An almost unlistenable, cacophonic noise for the most part.
    Full Review »
  2. Jan 22, 2016
    10
    Maybe ive been hidden away from talent for the last decade but ive never heard anything like this before. It was **** amazing! Recommend toMaybe ive been hidden away from talent for the last decade but ive never heard anything like this before. It was **** amazing! Recommend to anyone prepared to listen. Full Review »
  3. Jan 26, 2016
    9
    THE SEGALL HAS LANDED. On Ty Segalls newest release, Emotional Mugger, we find him getting darker and weirder than ever before. While 2014'sTHE SEGALL HAS LANDED. On Ty Segalls newest release, Emotional Mugger, we find him getting darker and weirder than ever before. While 2014's brilliant Manipulator showcased a more accessible sound, compared to other Ty Segall albums, this album, on the other hand, does almost the complete opposite. While the pop melodies Ty is known for are still prevalent on every song (excluding the oddball sound collage W.U.O.T.W.S.), this album shows Ty at his most experimental and obscure, experimenting with funk and hip hop beats, off kilter synthesizers and vocals, and loud abrasive noise. The riffs are heavier than most heard on other solo Ty Segall records, showing Ty taking some influence from his side project, Fuzz. The songs on here are also some of the best Ty has ever recorded. The intro song, "Squealer", is a psych-rock tune with some really cool synth and a really cool guitar solo (there's a lot of those on here). Many of the songs on this record stand out from much of Ty's catalog in that they demonstrate a **** funk rock sound, which is something we haven't heard from Ty before this record. The standout tracks on this record, in my opinion are "Diversion", "Candy Sam", "Emotional Mugger/Leopard Priestess" and "Squealer" but I highly recommend you listen to the whole album. Full Review »