THE STRIPED BANANAS – Eternity Forest (2025, LP/CD/Cassette, Cosmic Sunshine Records) 

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Cosmic Sunshine Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Ruby Red and Hot Pink Splatter Vinyl 

Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition (plus 2 bonus tracks)

Format: Cassette, Album, Limited Edition

Release Date: 3 Oct 2025

The Striped Bananas are back, and they didn’t just drop an album — they planted a whole damn forest. “Eternity Forest” is a trip through warped psych-pop, lo-fi dreams, and analog haze. This isn’t some slick, plastic product, it’s raw, rich, and buzzing with tape-saturated soul. What began as tentative singles for 2024–25 has bloomed into a full‑length odyssey steeped in vintage psych‑pop textures, and lush instrumentation. From jangly guitars to ghostly organs and cosmic sitars, the Bananas drag the ‘60s into the now, with collaborators spanning continents, without ever sounding like a pastiche, it’s DIY psych with dirt under its nails and stars in its eyes. 

The Striped Bananas are;

Tel: Vocals, Acetone & Farfisa Organs, Harpsicord & Piano

Duncan: Vocals, Lead/Rhythm Guitar, Slide Guitar, Bass, Sitar, Mellotron, Polyphonic Synth, Mandolin, Autoharp, Glockenspiel & Percussion

Friends:

James Knoerl: Drums

Ifedayo Foloranso: Backing Vocals, Akuba & Sekere (Kaleidoscope Affair & Forgotten World)

Harsh Shrivastavaa: Tabla (Strychnine Wine & Forgotten World)

Bruce Hendrickson: Bass (Surfer Girls Drive Wicked Cars)

Francesca Pratt: Drums (She Waits for the Sunrise)

“Eternity Forest” contains 12 tracks, equally divided to the 2 sides of the LP album… “Kaleidoscope Affair” is a fuzzy, psych-swirled opener with Duncan’s vocals front and center. Tel takes the mic on “Magenta Dream”, delivering a heartfelt, mid-tempo tune soaked in nostalgic haze. There’s a delicate sadness beneath the simplicity. Slide guitar glides over a mellow groove on “Over The Lily Pads”, with Duncan steering this bittersweet ride. “She Waits For The Sunrise” is an album highlight — sitar, Beatles-esque melodies, and dreamy vocals merge into a shimmering, 60s-flavored gem. Ends too soon, but leaves a gorgeous afterglow. “Haunted Vortex” is a baroque-psych detour, where harpsichord (or some ghostly cousin) sets a cinematic scene. Duncan’s melancholic delivery creates a beautiful tension. Side ‘A’ closes with “Strychnine Wine”, backwards tape weirdness, warped melodies, and a hazy, otherworldly feel… Side ‘B’ opens with bittersweet nostalgia wrapped in sitar echoes and shimmering guitars on “Wandering Days”. Duncan’s voice feels lived-in, and the whole track walks a tightrope between past and present with grace… There’s a sharp turn into fuzzy punked-out psych-rock with “America’s Child”, urgent guitars, socio-political bite, and a garage-y swagger that’s hard to ignore. “Vampire Of Mine” is distorted and heavy, this one’s dipped in grunge and post-punk tones. Brooding energy, thick riffs, and a darker emotional pull. “Surfer Girls Drive Wicked Cars” is sun-soaked surf rock with a wicked wink. Retro without being kitsch… On “Forgotten World” there’s some mid-tempo melancholy with that familiar Bananas charm. Sad but never flat… The album comes to an end with “Mushroom Lullabies”, a tender closer, steeped in end-of-summer sorrow. Feels like saying goodbye at sunset — quiet, heavy-hearted, and strangely comforting… In conclusion, “Eternity Forest” is a heartfelt, handcrafted journey through memory, loss, wonder, and weirdness. The Striped Bananas manage to sound timeless without chasing trends. It’s strange, beautiful, and quietly haunting — the kind of record you don’t just listen to, but wander through… TimeLord Michalis

ps I got this strangely strange feeling after listening to “Eternity Forest”… The whole thing here feels like an eerie magical combination of two 60s recordings, it feels like a blending mix of Neon Pearl’s “1967 Recordings” and The Shaggs’ “Philosophy Of The World”, two records that I’m extremely fond of, for different reasons, of course…

Tracklist

Links

Listen / Buy through THE STRIPED BANANAS Bandcamp

Check THE STRIPED BANANAS Official Web

Visit THE STRIPED BANANAS Facebook