Babe Rainbow Slipper imp and shakaerator

After growing up in Queensland’s bucolic Rainbow Bay before relocating to the more populous Byron Bay, the members of Babe Rainbow still embrace a beach-friendly hippie lifestyle that’s well-represented in their music. The trio’s sixth album was recorded in a warehouse on a former banana farm and adds some groovy swathes of synth and drum machine to their gentle psych pop. Angus Dowling sings about flying off in a spaceship against funky guitar licks on “Like cleopatra”, while “Aquarium cowgirl” continues that song’s whimsical ’80s vibes. So much of Slipper imp and shakaerator is equally danceable and psychedelic, with added flute and percussion from Miles Myjavec and backing vocals from Camille Jansen. And after years of loyal co-signs from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, that band’s Stu Mackenzie mixed the album and guests on “Mt dub”. There’s no sense of tightening up this music for commercial appeal; instead, it plays like a series of loose, tranquil jams between childhood friends. But with songs this sunny and catchy, the appeal is close to universal.