Triptides

Over the years Triptides have evolved from straight ‘60s acolytes splashed in the waves of psych-pop into a more nuanced group that culls from the past to craft modern vignettes of psych, country, and Americana. On their last album, 2021’s Alter Echoes, the band showed a real shift towards the latter two, still lacing their songs with fuzz leads, but also soaking in a newfound appreciation for Byrdsian jangles, jazz-psych nodes, and Kodachrome harmonies. Now, with a move to Curation Records, the band’s transition to West Coast influences is complete. Along with the shift towards sun-streaked hues comes a tip over the end of ’67 and into the twang and temper of ‘68 and beyond. The band opens up their sound towards more pastoral feelings — embracing their drive towards folk and country with an admirable ease.

Much like their predecessors they let the lines of age push away from the rampant jangles and kaleidoscopic colors towards the verdant greens of the Canyon and the cool water blues off the coast. Just as The Beau Brummels slid out of the curled smoke of Triangle into the denim ‘n dust of Bradley’s Barn, or The Byrds themselves tumbled through Notorious on their way to Sweetheart, Tripdides have a catalyzing moment here that feels like a marker in the direction the band takes from here on out. The muted colors deepen into Autumnal bliss, a record that’s comfortable with its own comfort. The plaintive slides of “I’m With You,” and the title track, the stately piano in “Where I’m Going,” all find them refining their songwriting on a trajectory that tracks with their psych-pop past. They let a few moments ruffle the ranks here, with a bit of a Harrison-esque dash of sitar on “Thinking About The End,” and the excellently down-turned “Revelation Blues,” but otherwise this is an album that embraces aesthetic. While the band has a lot of catalog to sift through, this certainly lays near the top of the heap, a record that’s looking backwards, but pushing them far further forward than they have before.

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