If that album was about reminiscing about the past, then Tripper is very much about seizing the moment. Beginning with a chance encounter with the title character on the opening track, “Tony the Tripper”, the album weaves a narrative of people trying to get away, or trying to find a new home, or just trying to get lost between those two poles. Johnson has always had this sort of wanderlust on his mind, but previous records found that wandering happening more in the head, in people trying to change their perception more than their place. Tripper is an album with a landscape and propulsion. It moves forward: sometimes ambling, sometimes stopping to take stock, but always heading to the next thing.

As a next step itself in the band’s discography, Tripper is out on its own. At its base, it continues the dusty AM-gold vibe the other records achieved, but Johnson—who has of late begun to work on film scores—pushes himself to incorporate new layers on the record. After the band recorded all its parts, Eric Johnson holed up with producer Thom Monahan and began messing with synthesizers, adding less organic elements to mix up the textures. The resulting record, after its four warm-sounding predecessors, sounds decidedly cool. There’s a darkness hovering around these songs, and if they still ride on the bright tones of Johnson’s voice, they are unafraid to let clouds cover the shine from time to time.

In the end, we can’t get away from ourselves; we can only change so much. Lucky for us, though, Johnson has changed just enough on Tripper and he has remembered to bring the best bits of his musical vision along for the ride. You’ll hear more about Fleet Foxes in 2011, surely, but that doesn’t mean you’re not missing out if you overlook this album.

-PopMatters

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