This week in Freak Scene, Elephant’s Eye dial in a vintage psychedelic sound on their new album Wild Are the Waves, and Connecticut blues-rock trio Reale Wolfe keep the singles coming.

There’s a distinct mystical sensibility running through Elephant Eye’s new album Wild Are the Waves. Fronted by Easthampton singer, songwriter and visual artist Todd Sinclair, the group is steeped in psychedelia, with arrangements of guitar, flute and cello swirling above bass and drums in a way that calls to mind the flower-power vibe of the late ’60s. (Elephant’s Eye perform tonight, Friday, Nov. 13, at the New England Visionary Artists Museum, 518 Pleasant St., Northampton.)

The nine songs here are full of kaleidoscopic vocal harmonies, starting with the opening title track. Sinclair intones the lyrics through surges of spidery electric guitar while his bandmates intone the song title in a call-and-response behind him. Acoustic guitar leads into “Gold Dust Moon,” and Sinclair sings a lilting melody over a circling bassline and layers of backing vocal harmonies.

It’s not all paisley and corduroy here, though: Wild Are the Waves has muscle, too. Brawling overdriven guitars from Sinclair and Angelo Quaglia roil over Shane Sinclair’s swaggering bassline on “Bulletproof Days,” and the riff on “Other Nights” tilts toward electric blues while the opening line paraphrases the lead-in to the four questions that are part of a Passover seder. Later, a bed of wah-wah rhythm guitar is a springboard for an ascending lick that leads into the chorus on “Apple,” where Todd Sinclair sings, “Apple is the color of my energy” while a flute pipes merrily along with him.

Toward the end, “Human Fingers” splits the difference between robust and elegant. The song starts with breezy guitars over a steady beat from drummer Christopher Streeter, and the musicians blend their voices on lyrics full of naturalistic imagery: wind, barley, mountains. (Multi-instrumentalist Will Lösch rounds out the band on cello.) “Human Fingers,” like most of Wild Are the Waves, feels like a window that opens onto a different time and place. So does the format: Elephant’s Eye released the album on vinyl, and not much of the band’s music is online. That makes finding a copy into a bit of a quest (there’s always the merch table at shows), but it’s one that is worth the effort.

Reale Wolfe Offer Enough Rope on ‘Long Lost Cause’

It’s not like Connecticut blues-rock trio Real Wolfe are on a schedule, but Roger C. Reale, Brian Wolfe and Rich Suarez put out singles with impressive regularity. Their latest, “Long Lost Cause,” is the group’s seventh release so far this year, while Reale has two additional tracks out with a different trio, the Beat Avengers (plus his contributions to Watching the Tide, the posthumous album from Steve Cropper & the Midnight Hour).

Roger C Reale/The ManchuriansLong Lost Cause, by Reale Wolfe

Reale Wolfe’s latest gets right into it with a raucous, garage-y guitar riff from Wolfe and churning bass from Reale, who delivers the straightforward lyrics in his big, booming voice. The rhythm gets a bit elastic in the middle section, but the vibe is rock-solid throughout.

Roger C Reale/The ManchuriansThe Biggest Loser, by The Beat Avengers

“Long Lost Cause” comes close on the heels of “The Biggest Loser” by the Beat Avengers, which has more of a power-pop feel thanks to jangly guitar from Dean Falcone and a rumbling beat from Mickey Curry. Maybe it’s just coincidence, but the Beat Avengers released the track on Nov. 4, the day after Election Day. “Even though you’ve got nothing to say your mouth’s still moving,” Reale sings, pushing toward the top of his range, and well, draw your own conclusions.

This Week’s Shows

Mibble, No Thankyou, No One and the Somebodies and Candle Opera play tonight, Friday, Nov. 13, at Haze in Northampton.

Sarah Noell, Erin Morse and Hazel Basil perform tonight, Friday, at Blackbird Cafe in Northampton; there's a $10 cover.

Dr. SM, Barbie AI, Big Blue, ATW (a.k.a. Aaron Taylor-Waldman) and Solid State perform Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Living Room in the Arts & Industry building in Florence; admission is $10-$20.

Aviva Yarrow, Ollie Schechter and Starbody play Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Gathering at Sirius, 72 Baker Road, in Shutesbury, which happens from 5-11 p.m. with a potluck and sauna (details).

The full concert calendar is available here for paid subscribers.

Upcoming Concerts

Lucinda Williams returns Feb. 13 to the Academy of Music in Northampton (tickets).

The Iron Horse in Northampton hosts Secret Planet shows with Spanish (they specify Galician) duo Caamaño & Ameixeiras Jan. 21 (tickets) and Underground System Feb. 5 (tickets), along with Ryan Montbleau solo Feb. 18 (tickets) Marc & Ted Broussard Feb. 24 (tickets), four nights from Matt Nathanson March 11-14 (tickets for one, two, three and four) and two shows by Darlingside March 27 (early and late).

The Drake has the Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra Jan. 30 (tickets) and Bridgeport jam-band Big Shrimp Feb. 5 (tickets).

The Marigold Theater in Easthampton has a free show Nov. 21 with Wolf Girlz, Tysk Tysk Task and Pearl Sugar, Skanksgiving with the Valley Moonstompers Society Nov. 25 (tickets) and Swinging Steaks with Wishbone Zoë Dec. 4 (tickets).

Perfume Genius and choreographer Kate Wallich stage a performance Feb. 6 at Mass MoCA in North Adams (tickets). Bill Frisell and Bill Morrison combine for what they’re calling a “Double Bill” April 17 (tickets).

Montbleau and Nathanson also play Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk Feb. 19 (tickets) and March 17 (tickets), respectively. Pure Prairie League play Infinity in Hartford March 10 (tickets).

College Street Music Hall in New Haven features Grace Potter & the Trespassers Jan. 17 (tickets) and the Dead South April 23 with Amigo the Devil (tickets).

The Space Ballroom in Hamden hosts Piebald Dec. 15 with Perennial (tickets), Jake Minch Feb. 11 (tickets), Oakland experimental/industrial band the Body & Cel Genesis Feb. 18 (tickets), the Amish Outlaws March 6 (tickets) and Capstan March 16 (tickets).

Speaking of Dean Falcone, the New Haven guitarist hosts his 30th-annual "Vomitorium" Nov. 25, the night before Thanksgiving, at Cafe Nine (tickets). Falcone presides over the loose-format celebration of friendship and music, with help from Ed Valauskas, Scott McDonald, Jim Balga and Rick Mealey, alongside the Vomettes and the Super Spreader Horns.

Stone Church in Brattleboro has Dom Flemons Feb. 18 (tickets).

That’s all for this week. Thank you for reading! Previous issues are available in the online archive. Freak Scene is free, but donations help make this happen and are gratefully accepted. If you’re able, please consider a paid subscription!