Richard Tripps - Richard Tripps (2023)

Californian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Richard Tripps treads familiar territory, yet with his self-titled debut LP he transports you in such a way that you won’t be bored for a moment. You get ten sun-kissed three-minute songs, rooted in folk but wrapped in clear jangle pop that embraces indie rock and psych influences. The lyrics are poetic, nostalgic and compelling (a song title like Placebo Heat says it all), and both the music and vocals are laid-back, melancholic and attractive (delicious guitar melodies), but there’s always an enigmatic and refreshing breeze blowing past your eardrums, as if there’s an extra layer that you can’t quite comprehend yet.

Perpetual Doom and Plume Records is proud to present the debut full-length album from Richard Tripps. Following 2022’s Right Back EP, Tripps’ full-length expands his brand of breezily melancholic indie rock into a stirring record full of mystical folk textures and thrilling songwriting—the musical equivalent of a late-night drive up the coast. For fans of Cate Le Bon, White Fence, and Cut Worms.

These ten tracks evince an easygoing mystery that is distinctly reminiscent of their origins at The Unknown, the studio and former Catholic church in Anacortes, WA where Tripps recorded with engineer Nich Wilbur (and his dog Cathy). The studio’s spectral presence is detectable on tracks like “Distant Memory,” with its organ, layers of ethereal vocals, and lyrics of long-forgotten days, and “Bless the Dead.” Speaking of the latter track, Tripps recalls hearing its chorus—“Bless the dead by walking in their stead”—burst out unprompted one morning from the studio’s speakers. “It was kind of spooky,” he remembers. “But the studio never felt haunted in a bad way.” For an album channeling the musical spirits of The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, and Leonard Cohen, it was nothing like an evil omen. Other tracks line Tripps’ strumming with a refreshing rock momentum. “Above the Surface” moves with propulsive energy, partly due to a late-night practice session with drummer Brian Noyes (Tomten), as Tripps takes on that universal feeling that “these days are never gonna feel right.” Jangle pop guitar and grieving for a canine friend drive the swirling “VCR.”

Richard Tripps brings it all together on the psychedelic closer “Saturday Flowers,” where swooning organ and Tripps’ rich vocals create an enigmatic texture. The song is an invitation to get lost all over again in the warmth and charm of this singular and delightful collection.