Widetrack explores the emotional limits of an evil man and his heroine redeemer on Galatea.
The father-son duo combines elements of horror movies, psychological thrillers, and Greek mythology to create a compelling narrative for its latest concept album.
“We love all the classic books and movies, like Red Dragon, Psycho, and The Silence of the Lambs,” said Ron Tippin, Widetrack’s vocalist and drummer. “It’s not so much about the shock and gore, but more about the psychological aspect of it.”
On Galatea, a man is caught in a destructive cycle while searching for the perfect woman to love and possess.
“What I started seeing with a lot of these books and movies that I was reading and watching is this person who overcompensates for feeling uncomfortable in his own skin,” Tippin said. “He desires these women, but he knows he doesn’t stand a chance with them.”
After dating and discarding many women, the man finally meets his match in Galatea. Inspired by Pygmalion’s ivory statue and Madeline Miller’s short story, Galatea sees beyond the man’s controlling nature and falls in love with him.
“The actual album is about this woman who doesn’t give into his control and ends up making him see himself for who he really is,” said Tippin, who’s based in Waterford, Michigan.
“It’s a composite of all these movies [and books] we’ve liked and talked about. It’s a tribute to horror movies, a tribute to strong women, a tribute to the power of redemption, or the question, ‘If you can’t be redeemed, then what’s the next best thing?’”
Tippin and his son, Zach Tippin (guitar, bass, keys), examine that question across eight tracks on Galatea, which features suspenseful lyrics and haunting alt-rock/prog-rock instrumentation.
I spoke with Widetrack about Galatea ahead of a May 23 show at Detroit’s Outer Limits Lounge.
The Stratton Setlist 