Track of the Day: Triptides - "Prediction"

Bloomington, IN's Triptides have kept busy over the last couple of years. The trio has churned out a steady stream of material through Bandcamp and upstart British imprint Stroll On Records. To this point, Triptides has has worked within the framework of surf rock: sleepy vocal harmonies set against sun-baked electric guitars drenched in reverb. The group's improvement between a batch of 2010 demos and its sophomore LP Sun Pavilion was marked in production and execution, but ran the risk of creative redundancy.

This week, Triptides announced its latest LP Predictions, set to ship on November 4. It's the band's first full-length vinyl release, limited to 250 copies. The title track finds Triptides venturing unabashedly into Tame Impala territory, with vocals awash in echo, a marching drum line and a repeating pop melody on what sounds like harpsichord. It's tempting to wave the imitation flag, but album opener "Set You Free" is a more straightforward pop track whose influence proves less easy to pin down. Regardless, it's encouraging to hear Triptides broaden its sound beyond the addictive but formulaic Link Wray riffs that brought them this far. Pre-order your copy of Predictions on CD or vinyl. Listen to a heap of Triptides earlier work via Musical Family Tree.