TROPICAL POPSICLE is the brainchild of Tim Hines, and has developed from a solo project into a band which also comprises Kyle Whatley (guitar, organ, backing vox), Chase Elliott (bass & synths) and Ryan Hand (percussion).
The band is very much rooted in garage Rock and psychedelia, but also has elements of 1980's alternative music. Their album 'Dawn Of Delight' features twelve tracks, opening with ‘Always Awake In Shadows’, a lovely psych-imbued track with swirling keyboards that capture The Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds period to retro-perfection. The vocals themselves are slightly Lennon-esque, too, something which adds to the atmosphere of the track. The lyrics are slightly oblique which again brings something extra to the track: - “I see lights on the plane...Where I wanna be, where I wanna be/ I see players in the game/ The flames will be, your great desire/ Always awake in shadows, always awake in shadows.”
Following on from this is ‘The Age Of Attraction’, which continues the 1960's motifs, however this time with chiming guitar which could have come straight from The Byrds' legendary early period. The lyrics take on a darker tone, which contracts with the upbeat, jangly melody: - “Herald the age of attraction, steeped in the time of deception/ White lies were never corrected, young lives were never collected/ Believe me when I say that we are young… we’re just killing time with no gun.”
Not all tracks flourish from psychedelic shoots. ‘Canyons’ for example is an experimental track that sounds as if the mike was just left on, or it was recorded underwater! Elsewhere, the wonderfully titled ‘The Omni Present Heart Shield’ also takes a different approach, with acoustic guitar and vocals that echo, with an overall feel akin to 1960's protest songs.
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The lyrics seem to deal with aging and the loss of innocence: “Take your little hand, guide it through my soul/ We are all asleep, we don't wake up, until we’re old/ Think about it hard, think about it slow/ We are all just juvenile delinquents, without no home.”
Bowing out with ‘Universe Of God Shadow’ (they do employ some memorable titles), the album goes out on a high. With acoustic guitar, keys and drums, this is psych pop at its best. Once again, the lyrics confront the idea of the end of summer/innocence: - “When you awake and your far from your travels, your Spirit can be near/ Summers gone no more Sun to yield your pleasures...They've left you all behind/ In the Universe, of God Shadow, there's no hope for you now."
Proffering a clutch of tracks that linger in the brain hours after the album's wound down, 'Dawn Of Delight' is well worth staying up to experience and marvel at.
Check out Tropical Popsicle at Bandcamp
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