The Tripping Souls’ eponymous debut was influenced by frontman Paul Makris’ decade-spanning love of ’60s rock, which he listened to growing up, and British musicians like The Jam’s Paul Weller and Oasis, which he heard during his time in Europe. Because of this, the album genre-hops from Beatles-like simplicity and lightness to Britpop nostalgia.
The EP is only five songs and 20 minutes in length, but it’s entirely rock and roll. “Elevate” opens the album and immediately sets the tone for the rest. It consists of almost grungy-sounding guitars and urges the listener to improve upon themselves. The next track, “The Riverbed,” is completely different, with cleaner-sounding instruments and a more psychedelic theme, though the vocals unite both tunes. “Stand Back” is the most aggressive song on the record, consisting of a punk attitude and the lyrics, “Stand back! I don’t want you around.” The release even recalls Tom Petty with its smooth sound and theme of struggling through love on “It’s Changed.” The closer, “The Place That I Love,” definitely evokes Lennon and McCartney with its soft, upbeat nature and simple lyrics.
The Tripping Souls is a not a revolutionary EP, but it simply modernizes previous styles without causing a been-there-done-that attitude in the listener. The band takes many of the distinctive classes of rock music throughout the last 50 years and merges them into one enjoyable release. They have created a considerable debut.
In A Word: Updated
