The Ripe: Into Your Ears

Like many of the bands who call Get Hip home, the three gents in the Ripe believe that the 1960s were the pinnacle of human musical achievement in the 20th century — and, given the mountains of sonic evidence from that decade, who’s to say they’re wrong? The desire to capture those sounds often costs these bands some of their personality, and the Ripe, for all their catchy tunes on their debut album, are no exception. Into Your Ears, so dependent on checking off ’60s signifiers, is less a head trip than a visit to the EMT doctor.

Admittedly, it’d be a pretty fun otolaryngologist: opener “Be Adventurous” proves these guys know their way through popsike jangle, just as “Neverending” nicks some girl group undertones and a Dave Davies-worthy guitar solo, and “Orchestra” more than hints that the band has worn through multiple copies of Love’s Forever Changes. None of it is bad, mind you, but none of it is truly distinctive. A few more tracks like the power pop beaut (where frontman Jake Garcia waits for a girl to call: “Did you know that I know that you know that I’m home?”) and these guys might transcend their favorite decade.