In 2018, we received the debut album Joy in the Wild Unknown from funk pop band Ripe. It was a strong release for the quintet, as it received praise from the likes of The Boston Globe and Huffington Post and drew in millions of new fans. From there, the group found themselves on the highly-acclaimed stages of Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Bottlerock, causing streams of their music to rise and tickets to their shows to sell out. Things got a bit quieter for the band in the years that followed, having to deal with a few major changes that affected their work. Still, Ripe was able to cope by creating music that reflected all they had been going through. As they get ready to release this music in the form of their upcoming album, Ripe is dropping the project’s first single, “Settling.”
A jubilant display of horns and guitar, “Settling” attempts to push away restrictive thoughts or feelings. The track is all about living a fulfilling life, not settling or stopping for anyone who gets in your way. Throughout the anthemic track, lead vocalist Robbie Wulfsohn sings, “Every time that you behave / Every time you play it safe / You can feel it getting harder, still you’re / Waiting for things to get better,” reminding us to take a chance and keep going. You can check it out below.
The feel-good melodies of “Settling” are a preview of what is ahead on their new album. When describing what is to come, Robbie mentioned,
“The wildest thing for me is that the record simultaneously sounds like it has the scars of everything we’ve been through and also that it doesn’t — it’s joyful music, which is very exciting given that it was made in the middle of getting hit in the stomach.”
The album is due out later this year. For now, you can listen to “Settling” on platforms like SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Catch Ripe on tour here.
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