Since 2023’s weirdly wonderful Hex Domestic EP, we’ve become big fans of Glasgow rockers Dragged Up. Thankfully, we haven’t had to wait too long for new music, and in February the band dropped ‘Missing Person’ as a teaser for their second album, High On Ripple. We described it as a ‘nonchalant earworm’, and it’s one of their best tracks (so far). But can the rest of the album live up to that promise? We’ve been champing at the bit to find out.
After finally hearing the album, the short answer is yes. The long answer? Also yes, but keep reading. High On Ripple fuses psych-rock with alt-rock, punk, grunge, prog and doom, and each successive song is very different to the last.
‘Bible Studies’ eases us into the album with gentle melodies before launching into thundering garage punk. ‘Life-Size Marilyn’ has one of the best alt-rock riffs since the 90s, ‘Die Tryin’ is dreamy, woozy poetry, ‘Young Person’s Guide to Going Backwards in the World’ is rollicking fuzzed-up rock, and ‘Professor Boo Boo Invents The Plague’ is a lumbering monster – transforming from casual, slacker rock into demonic doom, complete with chanted vocals.
The album closes with ‘Third Level’, nearly nine minutes of progressive psychedelic rock filled with groove after groove after groove, and when the band hits their stride, they’re unstoppable. Across the album, the vocals combine spoken word elements with occasionally awkward harmonies. They might not be immediately catchy, but they have this hypnotic, trance-like quality which will eventually mesmerise you.
It’s fair to say we love Dragged Up, and High On Ripple may infatuate you, too.
High On Ripple is out now via Rare Vitamin Records & Cruel Nature Records
