MIKE PAYS HEAT

Tape 1 Play On their first full-length, Tape 1 Play, Philadelphia unit Mike Pays Heat have borrowed a great deal of their twinkling minimalism from ’90s emo greats like American Football, and yet each one of their compositions introduces new and dynamic elements and textures. This trend of pace-shifting and morphing structures starts with opener “Living Out,” which begins with an atmospheric bass riff, adding layers of clean guitars as the song progresses. It all builds to a slow crescendo with a string section, as Ian Hunter’s impassioned vocals rise to a peak before shifting gears into a brief but poignant spoken word section. With 13 tracks, Mike Pays Heat have compiled a weighty collection, but manage to keep the overall flow of the album paced well, employing “(Tape 2 Play)” and “(Tape 3 Play)” — the latter of which weaves subtle horns and muffled conversation to create a haunting atmosphere — to keep the album cohesive. “Bloom” closes the album on a powerful and memorable note, as the band flex their technical muscle and transition from the bouncy, Tiger’s Jaw-esque intro into a more optimistic sound before opening up into a grand, string-focused section at the end. (Dead Medium, deadmediumrecords.com) BRANAN RANJANATHAN and all. Or, you could hit up emotionalmugger.com, where Segall, dressed as a doctor, stars in an infomercial describing emotional mugging, “a psychoanalytic subject-to-subject exchange formed as a response to our hyper-digital sexual landscape.” While all of this supplementary promotion might seem unlike Segall, it really speaks to the twisted goofiness and “anything goes” attitude that permeates Emotional Mugger. The wonderfully weird has been turned way, way up on Segall’s new LP, a concept album driven by characters and reccurring themes and melodies. There’s a delirious universe being crafted here, full of needy, yearning folk — each with an insatiable sweet tooth. Still, it’s undoubtedly a product of Ty Segall’s masterful mind: Emotional Mugger doesn’t stray from his established path of fuzz, catchy hooks and satiating riffs, but it’s messier than his last two solo releases, 2014’s clean-cut and calculated Manipulator and the acoustic, soul-baring Sleeper, returning to the lo-fi sound of his 2008 self-titled release. It’s also his wackiest work to date, with bizarre notes and chords here and there, unexpected changes of pace, mid-song melody reconstructions, gooey and screechy vocals and plenty of effects. There’s nothing mild about Emotional Mugger; it has an overwhelming sense of madness, but it’s addictive nonetheless. (Drag City, dragcity.com) COSETTE SCHULZ