Ripe, The ‎– Into Your Ears [CLEAR/BLACK SPLATTER VINYL] – New LP

Another stunning example of how a band can be heavily influenced by the garage rock (and power pop) of decades past and still offer something vital and original, this band just doing their thing with a healthy dose of hairflip indifference.  They offer plenty of variety, sometimes rocking out, mostly going into a 1960s-inspired power pop that often sort of sounds like a mix of the Monkees, Love, Badfinger, the Kinks, and the Cynics. They also have elements of glam bands from the 1970s, and power pop bands from second half of the 1970s and other styles from the 1980s, but just when you think you're ready to make some comparison (like when the harmonica comes in wonderfully and you suddenly hear echos of all the best of the psychedelic and power pop artists of Texas), they move on to something else.  It's something else, and keeps interesting and enjoyable and maybe even grows stronger as the set progresses through the two sides of this long player, the music moving along like a motor car trip to friendly places familiar and other places unknown with the mixed emotions that come from traveling around and making memories.  I'm coming to realize just how skilled Get Hip is at finding and signing bands like this, bands that make absolutely no apologies for worshipping idols from the decades past, but also moving off on their own and offering something completely original.  Originally self-released a European tour, this album was quickly picked up by Get Hip.  These beauties are some of the last of the CLEAR SPLATTERED VINYL first pressing.  

"While the Ripe certainly lays 60s garage pop down as the foundation of its sound, Into Your Ears is no journey through Retroville. [Jake] Garcia’s jangling guitar and melodic whine would sound just as at home in mid-80s Great Britain as mid-60s Los Angeles, and his way with a melody gives “Lost Weekend,” “Oubliette” and “Orchestra” a soaring pop sound way beyond anything tied to a specific era." -Michael Toland, The Big Takeover