Ripley Johnson has three bands as going concerns- Wooden Shjips (a four piece psyche rock outfit), Moon Duo (a three piece kraut/ kosmische ensemble) and Rose City Band (a cosmic country duo). I'll happily listen to any and all of these. Ripley's guitar playing and song writing are second to none.
Next year there's a new Rose City Band album, Sol Y Sombra, and ahead of it there is Lights On The Way, a gorgeous four and a half minutes of cosmic boogie/ kosmische Americana, chilled out guitar riffs, four four drums and Ripley's stoned vocals. There's some lovely, wigged out organ too, to keep it moving up and out.
This is Dawn Patrol from the previous Rose City Band album, 2021's Earth Trip, a languid, spaced out, nine minute, six string serenade. Earth Trip was an album Ripley made after the being locked down in 2020/21, staying at home for an extended period for the first time in years and appreciating the simple pleasures- being outside, walks at sunset, the wide open spaces of the west coast of the USA, living with nature's rhythms.
Coincidentally, a bit of Ripley/Shjips action over at mine today, albeit as part of a v/a selection.
ReplyDeleteI hadn’t listened to Rose City Band until you posted about them a while back, and I really like this new song.
You are spot on in commenting that whether it’s Wooden Shjips, Rose City Band or Moon Duo, Ripley is plugged into something special.
That first track is very very good. I suspect that Mr CC will agree with me.
ReplyDeleteI do indeed
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