TRIPTIDES

PREDICTIONS (Stroll On Records)

13/20

The crystalline arpeggios and washy vocals that open Set You Free forecast the whole Predictions album as one of nostalgic, earthy psychedelia. Indiana’s Triptides display a sound that harks back to a place amidst the British invasion of the 60s and the LSD-nourished summers of love, and it’s a delight to hear. As the opening track shifts into mach speed it bursts with momentum, erupts, and satisfyingly collapses into a spliff-laden climax of twinkling, pillowed sighs. It’s a cushy release. And this is an album full of them. Mixing jangling guitars with doo-wop vocals and a happy-go-lucky expression, this band demonstrate some truly amorous songwriting that lets every track go off on its own adventure.

Prediction re-states the mood and the setting with a jovial harpsichord that recalls Love, a likeness that continues straight into the floating I Can See You as well as on the mellow chimes of Sundown. The beachy surf of Night Owl has a subtle swagger, marrying the plastic smiles of early TV-show performances from bands like The Shadows with the nonchalance of garage rock rebels like The Stooges. The 12-string jangles of The Byrds, too, are found in full-swing on Tapestry.

This is where this album succeeds best. Despite occasionally succumbing to the heady guitar riffs, gloopy production and snare-heavy drums that have signposted the similarly-motivated Tame Impala, Triptides enjoy the closeness with which they mimic their influences. They’re a band that are derivative of those who came before them, for sure. But while the record is one that does sit slightly better with the Nuggets crowd than the nu-psych movement, it’s still a sweet, pleasant trip.