Do yourself a summer treat, drop out of your anxieties and drop into an American beauty, Rose City Band’s Earth Trip. Just be warned you might not want to leave.
Prolific songwriter and celebrated guitarist/vocalist Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo) offers an extra sensory peace haven, his third outing now as Rose City Band, a set of songs inspired by an extended reverie at home in Portland, the City of Roses itself.
The title of this psych-country trip sends us off into nature, digging down to the nitty-gritty, even if we don’t quite reach the level of the Grateful Dead – ie it’s more traditional country rock than spaced-out psychedelia, but there are still opportunities to mindfully meditate and contemplate the cosmic. You might even find yourself surrendering, without a worry, to the sensation of falling slow-motion backwards on to your ass, cushioned by a strategically-placed pillow, cloud or welcoming foliage to cradle you somewhere above the banks of a rural idyll with the clear sound of a waterfall – or is it more like a fountain? – cascading and reverting and reverberating below pure blue skies framing a healing, blooming greenwood inhabited by similarly-minded varmints seeking only simple pleasures.
The overall mellow, groovy vibe is more important than any particular song’s individual charms but opener Silver Roses deftly reveals the chosen path with its melodic guitar/pedal steel interplay and In The Rain drops in with more fine, subtle playing and nice mouth organ. Johnson fingers and picks his way through material that feels more melancholy and bittersweet than on Summerlong, Rose City’s previous album, but the fuzzy fun factor is upped by World Is Turning – nice and relaxed, woozy and even a little bit wonky.
Feel Of Love and Lonely Places keep the bar high – not that the bar need ever be set too rigidly in this radiant musical wonderland – while the upbeat Ramblin’ With The Day does exactly what it says on the tin and the extra echo and varying vibrato of the vocals on Rabbit blissfully remind you to keep your eyes on the skies and your feet floating just off the floor.
The retro West Coast, country/rock vibe wanders hand in hand throughout with a more contemporary celebration of campfire camaraderie, before lengthy closer Dawn Patrol (9:10) again showcases a beautiful electric guitar tone and more warm, honest vocals to bring this wistful, skilful journey to a close.
Earth Trip by Rose City Band is out on June 25 on Thrill Jockey.