Ty Segall has made whole records that wrestle with realities – fighting against some, pulling mightily to bring others into being. His new self-titled record – the next record after Emotional Mugger, Manipulator, Sleeper, Twins, Goodbye Bread, Melted, Lemons and the first self-titled album that started it up in the now-distant year of 2008 – is a clean flow, a wash of transparency falling into a world that needs to see a few things through clearly, to their logical end. It's got some of the most lobe-blasting neckwork since the Ty Segall Band's Slaughterhouse (from way back in the long, hot summer of 2012), but it also features a steep flight of fluent acoustic settings.

The construction and destruction of his chosen realities has, until now, been a luxury Ty has rightfully reserved for himself, striping overdubs together to form the sound – but for this new album, he entered a studio backed by a full band – Emmett Kelly, Mikal Cronin, Charles Moothart and Ben Boye – to get a read on this so-called clarity. This leads to a new departure in group sound, as well as some of the most visceral and penetrating vocal passages yet heard from Ty Segall. Take debut single, "Orange Color Queen," for example — a supreme moment of tenderness.

Ty Segall keeps you guessing, bracing your skin with a welcome astringency, seeking to stem the bleeding with chunks and splashes of guitar, tight beats, audio-verite toilet smashes, a Wurlitzer electric piano in a jam, blazing harmonies, and LOTS of songs to sing. There's no concept beyond that; finding the right places to be is a momentary thing. Ty Segall is the sum of his songs – and about getting the free. The free to be!