Trip to the stars

 By Henry Lipput

Here’s my question: Did SUPER 8 aka Trip aka Paul Ryan get an advance look at the pictures the Webb telescope had taken? It sure seems that way because his new album, Universal Journey (Bandcamp), is an out-of-this-world delight.

I’ve been enjoying and reviewing SUPER 8’s music since 2018, the year of his hat trick of three albums that are still a marvel of musical invention (start with the last one, HI/LO, and work your way backwards). He never fails to bring the tunes and arrangements and Universal Journey is no exception.

His new album is the first since 2020’s wonderful collaboration with Lisa Mychols which resulted in the Lisa Mychols and SUPER 8 album (Mychols provides guest vocals on many of Universal Journey’s songs). There have also been three singles in between these releases including “For My Friends” which has a lovely video made up of photos of his friends.

“California Road Trip,” a pop gem fronted by Mychols, opens with a terrific piano vamp lifted by Trip no doubt from a Goffin-King song and is just as good as “Timebomb” their first musical outing. The trip (pun intended) continues on the glorious “Rocky Road” with its lovely vocal from Mychols and, as always, a wonderful arrangement from Trip.

Trip takes over on the Dylan-esque “Cracks in The Pavement” bringing along his acoustic and his harmonica as well as some of The Bob’s wordplay: “I’ve got a friend who’s a poet/Drew me a picture of a boat/Friend who's a poet/Drew me a picture of a boat/But after reading through his poems/I wish he’d painted me a goat.” “On The Radio” is rocking little number with Trip in top-form musically and lyrically as he presents an ode about hearing new music (something we can all relate to).

The opening and closing tracks on Universal Journey (“Universe,” “Galactic 9,” “Feel,” and “The World Is Happening”) make up a soundtrack to a viewing of the incredible Webb telescope photos. “Galactic 9,” with vocals from Mychols, is the sexy sound of space travel with visions of a ship full of mile-high-and -a-half members.

“Feel,” which could be thought of as the album’s alternate title, is a woozy, psychedelic track and reflects the look of the cover painting: “We're floating through the sky on a flimsy wicker basket/The earth is just a ball suspended in the sky/Now here we find ourselves just learning how to fly.” There’s the repeated line “feel the air” and the song closes with “just keep me in your memory” as if the wonders of space travel might let you forget where you’re from and who you may be missing.

“The World Is Happening” wraps up the voyage. There’s a callback to the opening track with a repeated “The world is happening for you” and its used as part of a message of hope. If the stars shine in your eyes, it can make you stronger “when you feel the rhythm in your soul.” The song builds as it goes on and by the end with its chorus of backing vocals and a repeated refrain of the song’s title, you get an almost “Hey Jude” rush and wouldn’t mind if the song went on for a while longer.