Trabants is a psychedelic rock band from Portland, Oregon, whose latest album “Mirage” came
out in June 2026, supported with additional tour dates throughout the early part of the summer.
This is a band that combines multiple different genres into their approach, dabbling in surf-style
music like Dick Dale, western-style music, bossa nova, Motown soul etc. The lead singer and
architect is Eric Penna, supported by Dave Berkham, Anthony Brisson, Glen Brigman, Pete
Curry, Bryan Murphy, and Ron Dziubia.
Before putting pen to paper, I gave the album two complete listens to fully absorb its sound and vibrancy into my bloodstream. I then listened to the previous two albums in their catalog. Unlike other psych/surf albums, the entirety of it is instrumental. This is an admirable experimental move, and it paid off. The instrumentals are stimulating enough, with many different instruments synchronizing, that lyrics simply aren’t necessary for this project.
The intro is fantastic, teasing us with instrumental bits of what’s to come, with a minute-long introduction entitled Track Zero. Then the second track Hot Brew hits, and an ecstatic explosion hits your mind. The guitar licks are fully charged and feature a catchy groovy refrain. It immediately reminded me of the Stooges and MC5, specifically Kick out the Jams, that spellbinding crash of pure rock euphoria, a rush of adrenaline similar to running a hundred-meter dash.
The third track brings us back in time to the glory days of the 1960s, with the surf-style Dick
Dale beat that brings to mind visions of vast beaches, gorgeous turquoise skies, pina coladas, and
hopeful dreams. It reintroduces the ideals from the 60s of no wars, free love, and embracing open
empathy and selflessness, all ideals that were eventually abandoned.
Track four, one of the singles Purple Panther, is a tune likely inspired from Eric Penna’s time
composing music for films. Clearly Pink Panther inspired, it combines the classic jingle sky TV
theme sound with psych-rock injections. The music video is entertaining, featuring the famous
Panther driving the car the band itself is named after.
My personal favorite track is Soul Garage A Go Go, because it succeeds at taking amazing
vintage sounds, like Motown music, and adding surfer-psych into a blender to produce an
audibly satisfying and pleasurable smoothie. It’s the song I have returned to most from this
album.
One of the great things about the Trabants and why they are truly talented is their ability to
masterfully play in different styles while still maintaining a core identity to their sound. Their
2018 album was heavily western inspired, bringing to mind the Sergio Leone classics like A
Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. This trend continues with Mirage. Songs
like the title track feature guitar licks that explicitly bring to mind those Ennio Morricone intros from those classic movies. You could imagine this song showing up in the soundtrack of a
modern-day revisionist western. In fact, Eric Penna has recorded music for movies and television
shows in the past.
The last song has sitar strings reminiscent of George Harrison and Brian Jones. A proper way to
close the album, which was stylistically different prior to its finale. Indian music has had a heavy
stranglehold over the psychedelic movement since the 1960s, and it is easy to see why because
the sitar produces such a specific, dignified, singular sound that is haunting and beautiful.
Another modern day band who utilized sitars recently is Gorillaz with their latest album The
Mountain. Damon Albarn personally visited India for inspiration. It is likely Indian music will
continue to inspire Western artists.
For his next musical project, Eric Penna plans to record an album in French with an LA-based
musician named Helene Renaut. The inspiration Penna is drawing from includes Francoise
Hardy and Brigette Bardot. It is evident that Trabants will continue to experiment with the limits
of their sound moving forward, as he has been thus far, getting involved with new collaborators
and stepping out of his comfort zone. I am glad I found this band and will continue to check in
on their activity moving forward.
Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/trabantsmusic
https://www.instagram.com/trabants
https://www.tiktok.com/@trabants
