Earlier this year Tarentel member Danny Grody released the very well received Memory Drawings with his group The Drift. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma also has a side-project away from Tarentel called The Alps, and their new album III also delivers the goods. Alexis Georgopoulos (Tussle/Arp) and Scott Hewicker (Troll) round out this psych-folk group (as they have been called) from San Francisco. Like Memory Drawings, III is a much more melodic affair than your standard Tarentel record, but still retains traces of the ambient and improvisational style the group is known for.

The trio creates a welcoming atmosphere on “A Manhã Na Praia,” beginning the album with some light percussion, a pleasant acoustic guitar pattern and a melody on bells. As the song begins to build, more instruments are added to the fray, including a zither and didgeridoo. There are a variety of instruments from around the world on this album, giving it a bit of an ethnic flavor, somewhat like Grails. The follow-up track, “Hallucinations,” is one of several on the disc built over a steady grooving bass line. Dusty-sounding tape delays and warble effects on the guitars heighten the level of psychedelia immensely. I can picture myself cruising in one of the trippy scenes from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas while listening to this track.

There are many different tones and textures found on III and each one sounds as if it was labored over and tweaked until just right to blend well and fit the mood of the song. Take “Labyrinths,” for example, with its great-sounding tremolo synth effect that doubles the piano melody about a minute in, or “Cloud One” with its fuzzy guitar lines buzzing in each ear during the climax of the song. Almost every track on III has an intricate wash of sustained ambient noise, warped tape loops and eerie processed vocals in the background. If done wrong, this may have been distracting from the more melodic parts or could have even sounded cheesy. The Alps execute perfectly, however, creating hazy psychedelic environments for the songs to exist.

The first five tunes on this disc (about thirty minutes of music) are absolute gold. A stressful or shitty day could easily be cured with the relaxing and engaging soundscapes The Alps create over this stretch. Tracks six and seven seem more like experiments and deviate from the rest of the album. “Pink Light” is a minute and a half sax freak-out similar to The Samuel Jackson Five’s “Person Most Likely to Enjoy the Taste of Human Flesh.” “Echoes,” with its blips, beeps and alien noises sounds like a spaceship powering down and getting ready to beam you back to Earth.

“Into the Breeze” is a smoky jam which closes out the album nicely and cements my opinion that The Alps are a group to keep your eyes on. Their mix between acoustic/organic instruments and psychedelic ambience is extremely pleasing to listen to. You can chalk this up as number two on the year for excellent albums released by Tarentel members.

-Brenton Dwyer