There are many terrific indie and DIY albums dropped in recent months that we highly recommend for your isolation time. One of those is from an indie band we have heard from in a long, long time.
Returning from a two-decade hiatus, indie rock trailblazers Tripmaster Monkey made a successful comeback with the band’s latest album, My East is Your West.
MEISYW gets going right out of the gate with the upbeat, booming track, “Summer Bummer (Strummer Stunner Version).” The song is an enthusiastic indie pop-rock number that sets the tone for the 11-track album. The parenthesized part of the track is titled ‘Strummer Stunner Version.’ The track is the first single off of the album.
“The song is the curtain opener to begin the movie that is our album,” says bassist Chris Bernat.
“It speaks of a character that is the lifeblood of the scene…the narrator talks of unforgettable times when summer nights could last forever and the energy of youth was aplenty,” he adds.
The plot of the track ‘takes a turn’ when the protagonist is overcome by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). “Perhaps bi-poler or at least bi-curious,” Bernat reveals, ” our hero/antihero continues down a path that leads to self-isolation.”
The genuine friendship between the two wins out in the end and the worst doesn’t happen. “It’s a real coming of age kick-off that trails with the multi-layered refrain. “La La La la la/winter spring and summer and the season that would follow you round/of your own choosing feed the forces that were bringing you down/the beginning, to begin to begin in the beginning”.
The second single to emerge from the album is the hard-chuggin track, “Ruined in Rouen,” a hook-swinging rhythm teamed with sweepingly melodic guitars that then switch halfway through, transitioning into a punk-pop blazer. The band says the song is “about a bad trip on a good trip,” whatever that means. IRC listeners liked the song so much that it made our Top 10 Songs playlist series.
Near the end of the track, a heavily bumping bass jumps front and center with a flowing chorus and a sudden but reverberating finale.
“And Yet Maybe?” opens with a hook-friendly and melodic pop tone carried by angling guitars, bumbling bass, well-timed percussions, and the whispery vocals that are accompanied by the chorus – all making this one of the most memorable tracks on the album.
TMM is obviously having a good time on the album; that really comes across. On the forward-driving, put-the-sunroof-down track, “Letter to Dresden,” the band rocks hard and diligently, pumping out yet another indie pop-rock slugger.
The tone changes on “Jonathan’s Song.” Here we have a much more stripped-down and lo-fi track than any of the previous numbers. The bass bumbles through a thick riff that is coupled by the drumming parts and youth-filled vocals and verve.
You’d think TMM was a relatively new band because they sound so fresh, young and alive – and yet at the same time, it is clear these are veteran indie rock musicians.
The title track is a signature indie-pop track that reminds us of the days of indie past when bands were experimental, enthusiastic and depressing in uplifting ways – mostly of course through the music.
“Against It” is an anthemic, sing-a-long track without being pretentious; it evokes pure fun even if the main chorus of the song repeats the sort of confounding line: “when the waves start crashing and the walls come tumbling down.” Wait, we were having fun with the waves; what walls came tumbling down? This slick track embodies the spirit of the golden days of 90’s indie rock.
On “New York,” the band drives forward with upbeat melodies, chugging guitars, pumping basslines, and yet another catchy chorus. Things slow down and come back to earth on the quieter, ambling track, “Antidote Shuffle.”
But once it hits the chorus (again the chorus!), it reminds us of Mojave 3. The remainder of the track runs through more verses of a story were still not sure about.
Interestingly, the slacker vibe here harkens the old days when some alt. rock and indie rock styles began to merge; at times blurring the lines between the two genres, and giving fans and critics alike plenty to say about that subject.
As with many of their songs, the guitar hooks are front and center. The latter part of “Antidote Shuffle” features a sweet instrumental jam. Altogether the track clocks in at exactly six minutes; some may say six minutes is almost double the time of the standard song. So what – this is indie. Regular ‘rules’ do not apply.
“Silvis Blues” is a smoking alt. rock track with an errily chorus that reminds us of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For the Devil” – the woo-woo, woo-woo part.
If you were a fan of Tripmaster Monkey back in 90s as we were, you’ll want to listen to this album. It may even better overall than the band’s classic 90’s releases – Practice Changes and Goodbye Race. (Strongly recommended if you’ve never heard them.)
Those older albums were more lo-fi, stripped down, and less refined. That’s why the genre of indie/alt. rock sphere is so useful; it is where bands like Tripmaster Monkey are most at home, and where they also make and have made important contributions to indie rock, even if you’ve never heard of them.
The fact that after all these years, the band members – with jobs and families and living in different parts of the country – got back together to drop their best work yet solidifies their place in the annals of indie rock.
Even more, the album is the culmination of years of work between the band members who each added their own instrumental and vocal tracks by exchanging files via the cloud for a final mix.
Over the years, we’ve heard a number of albums that were recorded using the cloud and the results were less than impressive.
But in this case, you’d never know that the band members were working via the cloud. The album was recorded and mixed by Pat Stolley and mastered by Jeff Konrad.