Freak Scene #113: The Striped Bananas Swirl on 'Eternity Forest'
Plus, Western Mass. trio Babe, Wait make their debut on an EP called 'debut'
This week in Freak Scene, we travel through interdimensional space with Hartford psychedelic-rock duo the Striped Bananas, and dig into the first EP from Western Mass. trio Babe, Wait.
Psychedelic rock is at once a marker of a specific cultural moment, and also somehow ageless. From its origins in places like London and San Francisco in the latter half of the 1960s, psych-rock blossomed into a rich musical subculture that has remained a draw ever since, often as a hyphenate influence on psych-folk, -pop, -punk, -funk and so on. The Striped Bananas gravitate toward the vintage stuff on Eternity Forest, the Hartford duo’s latest.
Married couple Duncan and Chantelle Shepard make music steeped in the sound of the psychedelic ’60s, on songs full of blaring Farfisa organ, spidery electric guitars and hazy vocal harmonies. They hit all the touchstones in these dozen songs: kaleidoscopes, dreams, mushrooms, the sun — it’s like an riot of paisley prints and crushed velvet bursting out of the speakers. A slippery wash of droning sitar anchors “She Waits for the Sun,” where Duncan and Tel (as she’s known) sing parts on the chorus that are on the outer edges of harmony for a woozy, cracked-mirror effect. On album opener “Kaleidoscope Affair,” diaphanous keyboards drift around over a burly fuzztone guitar line and Duncan sings lead in a hypnotic monotone that becomes prismatic when Tel and collaborator Ifedayo Foloranso add backing vocals.
Befitting the Striped Bananas’ old-school approach, the lyrics on Eternity Forest have a mystical bent, with references to getting lost in time on “Over the Lily Pads,” alternate dimensions on “Haunted Vortex” and astral exploration on “Surfer Girls Drive Wicked Cars,” where Duncan mentions having “raced through the streets of Mars” over a pumping bassline and see-saw keyboards. “Vampire of Mine” veers away from the ’60s sound and closer to a Cramps-style B-movie punk vibe, which fits: the track featured in the 2025 horror-comedy OnlyFangs.
You wouldn’t know it by listening, but Eternity Forest, the duo’s eighth LP, wasn’t an easy one to make. Creative struggles prompted the Shepards to focus on writing singles over the past couple of years (including “Vampire of Mine), which eventually resulted, they say, “in an explosion of material.” Their perseverance paid off, yielding a group of songs that sound familiar, but original.
Babe, Wait Make Their ‘Debut’
There’s no mistaking the first EP from Babe, Wait for anything other than a debut, largely because the Western Mass. trio, with refreshing directness, named it debut. It’s a five-track collection full of bare-bones indie-pop songs that emphasize hooky melodies without ever getting too precious about it. The trio’s directness extends to the songs, too, both in words and music.
Jess Hesse, Emily Higgins and Zoë Stone favor simple arrangements consisting of guitar, bass, drums and vocals, which Hesse and Higgins share. They play with speedy energy on opener “Lexapro,” where scratchy guitar cruises along over the clatter of drums and a muffled-sounding bassline, which breaks out on its own for a few bars. Hesse and Higgins swap verses and blend their voices in harmony on the chorus as they wonder about the trade-offs inherent in medicalized mental health. “I can’t tell if I need a longer ladder or a deeper hole,” they sing. “The pill that makes you purr will rob you of your soul”
Babe, Wait slow down on “Message 4G,” a melancholy track about feeling misunderstood by someone who you think should know better. A slow-footed beat keeps hold of jangly chords on an electric guitar, while Hesse and Higgins’ vocals land somewhere between aggrieved and disappointed. “Hannah” picks up the pace again, deploying thick, sludgy guitars and an unembellished beat in support of lyrics they deliver in a torrent. The track captures the vibe of debut: It’s nervy, energizing and fresh.
(Babe, Wait perform a free show with the Unlucky Shots and Wishbone Zoë Friday, April 17, at the Marigold Brattleboro.)
Upcoming Concerts
These are new shows announced this week. The full concert calendar is available here. Starting next week, the full calendar will be available exclusively to paid subscribers.
Gov't Mule joins the lineup at Tree House Brewing in South Deerfield with a show July 22 (tickets).
The Iron Horse in Northampton hosts a 50th-anniversary party for the Downtown Sounds music store June 1, with performances from Behold! True Believers, the Lonesome Brothers, King Radio and Klezamir (tickets). Also on the docket: Melissa Ferrick June 7 (tickets), Mary Lambert June 13 (tickets), Charlie Parr July 8 (tickets), Irish "traditional post-rock electronica" band the Olllam July 24 (tickets) and Noah Gundersen July 26 (tickets).
The Marigold Theater in Easthampton hosts an album release show April 26 for Barry Searle & the Wolf Hill Band (tickets).
Coming to the Drake in Amherst: Handsome Jack, Troy Mercy and Canyon Lights June 13 (tickets), and virtuoso bassist Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers June 26 (tickets).
Jon Batiste plays Aug. 13 at Westville Music Bowl in New Haven (tickets).
College Street Music Hall in New Haven brings in Lyle Lovett and His Small Large Band July 22 (tickets).
The Space Ballroom in Hamden hosts the Alpaca Gnomes May 1 (tickets), Final Gasp with Blood Vulture May 2 (tickets) and Bad Cop Bad Cop June 16 (tickets).
Infinity Music Hall in Hartford has St. Thomas dancehall musician Skillibeng May 29 (tickets).
That’s all for this week. Thank you for reading! If you like what you’ve seen, please share. Previous issues are available in the online archive. Email erdanton at gmail for coverage consideration, but check out these guidelines first.
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