Babe Rainbow - Slipper imp and shakaerator Review
Babe Rainbow’s nature-born project Slipper imp and shakaerator takes the Aussie trio back to their roots and places its listeners in a realm of a sonic high.
Babe Rainbow releases their seventh album Slipper imp and shakaerator, becoming the trio’s most ethereal, groovy, and free-form release yet. “What is ashwagandha” opens up with a faded adlib reading: “I’d like to start by possibly investigating a point of view that I think many, many listeners would be a bit hazy about”; A rather perfect introduction to an album that’s a 40-minute blurry daydream. Babe Rainbow embraces their coastal Australian roots, creating Slipper imp and shakaerator in a banana farm warehouse in Byron Bay. The band’s seventh album stretches its limbs and basks in a sun-lit celebration of acid pop and psychedelic rock, showcasing the enticing delirium of hypnotizing instrumentals and faded lyricism. The crew masterfully takes on acidic synths, and sounds that found a pocket somewhere between The Growlers and Animal Collective. It’s a luminous drop, perfectly crafted to replicate a drug-induced high.
“What is ashwagandha” ushers our ears into an illusory soundscape that pays specific attention to the fluttering sounds of nature. A fuzzy bassline and echoing vocals by lead Angus Dowling set the relaxing tone of the project, one that timidly opens your mind up to the idea of a free-form listen. “LONG LIVE THE WILDERNESS” sands the rugged platform of pessimism and douses it in sweet honey. A gentle metronome leads your ears into a neatly composed duo of electric guitar and piano. Dowling takes the time to urge his listeners “You’re living your life too fast/ Take a break at eight if you can”, cementing the album's adherence to detachment, inner-peace, and presence.
There’s a very ethereal feeling to account for when listening to Slipper imp and shakaerator, one that the psych-rock trio hopes to drive home with the track ‘Apollonia’. The sepia-drenched track floats by with a beautifully dissonant guitar and sci-fi sounding synths. It’s slightly tattered with bits of raw string-plucking that strike your ear with the perfect amount of disruption. Tracks “Rainbows end” and “Sunday” subscribe to all things loopy and playful, filled with a menagerie of funky sounds and oscillating vocals. From the sonic twists and spins of “Sunday”, “Like cleopatra” emerges in all of its 1975-esque glory. The bouncy, feel-good track sounds like the psychedelic cousin to an 80’s funk tune, including lightly resonant electronic synths.
“When the milk flows” poses as one of the most energizing tracks off the project, lunging its distorted chants and punchy bongo into our ears for a perfectly chaotic listen. The track is introduced with a French flight attendant signaling a take-off; All before we’re bombarded with the sprinkled-in daft punkian electronic vocals. The project's reprise “re-ju-ven-ate” harmoniously ties the album together, taking a gleeful exit filled with melodious “ahhh’s and ooo’s”. The track’s grainy texture makes you feel like you're rediscovering vintage childhood film, reconnecting with a happier, more carefree self.
It’s safe to say Slipper imp and shakaerator displays its admiration for times of tranquility, and creates a space for our ears to indulge in an illuminated sonic transcendence. Babe Rainbow has a way of making your problems feel smaller in the length of 40 minutes, transplanting our ears into a world of wave-riding,
flower fields, and warped rainbow colors. Slipper imp and shakaerator congeals the sensations of being harbored and ultimate transcendence into one cohesive entity. The Aussie acid-pop stars have created their most buoyant and colorful project yet, each track making its way across the belt of the rainbow.