Shapeshifter＜限定盤＞

Time moves forward inexorably for us all, even for Triptides, a band determined to live in the sunny warmth of Californias past. As their musical obsessions shifted from the mid- to late 60s over the course of their first several albums, the band have advanced into the laid-back, balmy climate of the early to mid-70s on 2025s Shapeshifter. The cheery buzz of synthesizers carries the weight on many of the records 11 tracks, and while numbers like "Connection," "Your Darkness," and "More Than a Friend" build up enough momentum to rock, the significant majority of this music is amiably easygoing, summoning a proto-yacht rock vibe. Shapeshifter also captures less of the back-and-forth feel of a band playing live than one might hope for, which is not a surprise when one reads the credits. Triptides leader Glenn Brigman plays all the instruments on eight of these songs, while bandmate Stephen Burns stops by to play lead guitar on two tracks and goes all out on "Altered Visions," adding backing vocals, guitar, bass, and percussion, though Brigman still contributed three keyboard parts for the tune. While the sound of Triptides has evolved on Shapeshifter, the personality is still mostly the same, as the dreamy, slightly baked undertow thats always been part of their songs rises to greater prominence in the mix. If Brigman has taken on the role of benevolent despot on Shapeshifter, it appears to suit him, as the gentle but insistent psychedelic waves of his melodies wash over his banks of keyboards and his sunburnt lyrics, which seem soothing even when theyre sad. Shapeshifter lacks a bit of the charge of efforts like 2018s Visitors and 2021s Alter Echoes, but its the work of a musician following his muse at his own pace in his own time, and when it works, it feels like a day at the beach in 1972, which is in no way a bad thing. ~ Mark Deming