From Wooden Shjips to Moon Duo, Ripley Johnson has always focused on musically diverse formats. The Shjips were heavy rockers, while Moon Duo has a more minimalist electronic focus. Lately, he’s been concentrating more on his psych-country outfit Rose City Band, yet nothing is that simple. While Rose City Band’s last album, Garden Party, was a celebration of summer and all it brings, Sol Y Sombra touches on both sun and shade, with a pervading darkness creeping into these songs, it serves as a reminder that where there’s light, there will always be shadow.
Pedal steel player Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg and John Jeffrey on drums, aid Johnson in tinging these songs with hints of sadness and sorrow that keep the sun at bay. While walls can be physical barriers, Rose City Band’s closing track, The Walls, deals with the mental obstacles we construct. The mourning pedal steel and a crying organ underline Johnson’s lyrics, “Outside the walls/ We’re falling out I know/ In the way I go“; the depths of despair are palpable.
Yet there are also sights to behold along the way that provide rays of hope, as on Seeds of Light “Seeds of light/ In rows of violet growing/ Wild and free/ Can lead us back to knowing.” It’s a wonder to behold, especially in the lovely outro where the drums give way to keyboards and guitars plot a new course for the sunlight.
With vibes of the Dead’s Touch of Grey, Lights on the Way keeps those shadows at bay with Johnson singing “Lights on the way/ In the cold and rain/ In the night the whole world fades/ And I’m home again.” More than just getting by, Johnson is getting back to what matters.
Aided by Moon Duo mate Sanae Yamada’s synth on La Mesa, the course they chart turns slightly as if offering pathways that may yield further exploration because Johnson never stays in one place for too long. As new directions appear, he tends to move with them. It is less about the path than examining what lies ahead.
While life’s pathways may not always be clear, some things seem inevitable. Talking about the making of the album, Johnson shared “One of my takeaways from making this record is that I spent a lot of energy trying to do things a little different but ended up back where I started in many ways, And that’s OK.” A sentiment that’s also expressed on Wheels, “Life in peace/ In the sun/ All the hearts turning/ Back to one“. With Sol Y Sombra, Rose City Band don’t shy away from what may lie ahead, they continue charting new directions in both the sun and shade.
Sol Y Sombra (24th January 2025) Thrill Jockey