22. February 2025
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Media Review

Ripe – Bright Blues

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Ripe - Bright Blues

Ripe - Bright Blues
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very own modern interpretation of funk
  • Nice range of track

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some weaker songs

Bright Blues by the US band Ripe was one of these albums I received without knowing anything about the artists – and then being very quickly very sure that I have to review it. Here is the result – you can listen to all songs from 10th March 2023.

 

Ripe – About The Artists

Ripe is a funk-pop band from Boston. Their current lineup includes singer Robbie Wulfsohn, the guitarist Jon Becker, drummer Sampson Hellerman, bassist Nadav Shapira and trombone player Calvin Barthel. I found one album by the band so far, Joy in the Wild Unknown, which has been released in 2018. Furthermore, there are two EP releases, Hey Hello and Produce the Juice. The band has a total of over 65 million Spotify streams at the time of writing.

 

Ripe – Bright Blues – Track by Track

The twelve song album lasts 42 minutes.

1. Get Over

Get Over opens the album with a nice pop sound and funky vibes. The trombone is adding the right extra to this song. Very nice!

2. Settling

Settling starts a block of three single releases in a row. This song is a bit slower and has a nice, almost relaxing touch in the verses, caused by the guitar strums. However, the chorus has a lot of power, a lot of vibes and brass touch. Very modern genre mix.

3. All or Nothing

Already the third song of the album is an All or Nothing. Not at all necessary, the album is doing well so far. And this third song has a lovely groove. Very laid back, cool sound.

4. Noise in the Forest

Guitar, bass and brass – this is the magic triangle, which is finally riving the Ripe vibes. Robbie Wulfsohn “just” needs to finish on this basis. In songs like Noise in the Forest, he is doing so very well.

5. Paper Cups

Is it enough?
Or am I just filling up paper cups
‘Till I spill out and you clean me up
‘Till I freak out and you pick me up
Is it enough?
Or am I just filling up paper cups
‘Till I spill out and you clean me up again

The fifth track is having a dreaming, a bit of melancholic atmospheric. Wulfsohn is beautifully moving between different atmospheres. Not my favorite song, but an enjoyable ditty.

6. Queen of the City

The vibes of funk music are definitely in focus of this Queen of the City. Thereby, Ripe transport the genre into the 2023 and create a modern, fresh sound. Nice.

7. Avril

This song is obviously dedicated to a lady called Avril, even though her name is only explicitly quoted in the title. The slow track also comes with a strong funk focus, but feels more traditional than the predecessor.

8. Say It To Me

The eighth song feels a bit easier, comes with funk references, but also spreads some summer vibes. Thereby, the song is about struggling with love.

I know it’s hard
For you to say
What you’re feeling
I’ll wait until
Until you say
Say what you mean
Until you say
Say it to me

9. Trivia

Trivia is indeed a nice 3:35 minute song – but I just don’t manage to grab it and take some special moments from the listen. Enjoyable, but not special to me.

10. The Outcome

The summer vibes, which are always popping up quickly when you listen to funk, are especially present in here. The rhythmic section of the instruments creates the right ingredients which make you dance.

11. Brendan

I like to think that death is just some guy who’s doing his job
We’ll call him Brendan
Sometimes he gets tired
But still shows up and does the work
Go get ‘em Brendan
I don’t know if we’d know
How to put meaning into things if not for Brendan
What good is a journey if the journey’s all beginning and no ending?

Hopefully you don’t have a close friend called Brendan, you might think of him differently after that listen. Later, we also learn about Caitlin in the lyrics. Really entertaining write – the story is definitely boosting this melody.

12. Good Intentions

Similar to Trivia, I feel that Good Intentions just does not have the catching elements which many other songs on Bright Blues have. Thus, I would have loved to have a different closing listen.

 

 

Ripe – Bright Blues – Spotify

You can listen to the songs on Spotify:

 

Ripe – Bright Blues – My View

I like the was Ripe is defining their kind of funk music. Overall the sound is harmonic and consistent. The album comes with a few weak spots, but if you like the genre and would love to have some fresher and more modern style of the music, this album may be your option.

 

Funk on Flyctory.com

Here are all postings on Flyctory.com related to funk music:

 

Uncommon Stays

Castles, planes, great locations – I just call these very special Hotel & Accommodation postings as Uncommon Stays:

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