Shapeshifter, the new long-player from cosmic LA rockers Triptides, unfolds like a golden sunrise over the Pacific ocean. Warm rays of Wurlitzer and Farfisa organ radiate through a swirling haze of vocal harmony as kaleidoscopic melodies trace shimmering trails through your subconscious. A floodtide of laid-back grooves unfold and uplift, unfurling gracefully as they fill one's inner space. And they say you can't escape gravity in your living room Over the last fourteen years and dozens of albums and singles, Triptides have traversed a hyper color musical landscape of psychedelic rock, Laurel Canyon folk and spaced-out jazz pop. Each track can be traced back to group leader Glenn Brigman's unique ability to craft and explore a seemingly infinite number of dimensional melodies and harmonies. With every line of Brigman's airy vocals that dance across the tape and into the speakers, stoners, trippers and lovers alike are transported to a sweet and familiar place, lifted by chiming guitars, hypnotic drums, glittering pianos and hallucinogenic fuzz. Between Starlight (2023) and Shapeshifter the music merrymakers that support Brigman's vison ebbed and flowed, while the inspiration continued to percolate within his studio nestled in the San Bernadino Mountains. "It's back in the woods, and it's nice putting noise out into the void" says Brigman. Starting with keys and a click, he gave himself over to inspiration to create Shapeshifter. "I would sit down and play the drums, then add piano and guitars, vocals and tambourines and all that jazz and suddenly it's been eight hours." Performed, produced, and mixed primarily by Brigman, Shapeshifter took form over a year of musical exploration. As the songs emerged, he noticed that the keyboards kept coming to the surface in the form of a cerebral, down-tempo psychedelia. The soft glow of those melodic embers caught; with gentle breaths Brigman helped them grow into a proper long-form conflagration. As with all Triptides records, Shapeshifter is intended as both a tool of self-reflection and a salve for the collective unconscious. A round-trip ticket to journey into your own thoughts and ideas, reflected back through the mirror of the art and the music. "I don't have much else to offer outside of my art, you know" laughs Brigman. "I go to sleep better knowing that I've created something that someone somewhere might put on and they'll make their day go from bad to good. Maybe this record will create more emotional food for people. I want my art to nourish." Each Triptides recording is a personal reflection, an unexpected evolution and honest testament to The Song. The next album will be no different.
