Fungi Girls – Some Easy Magic (2011)
This rock fusion LP boasts a spunky sound across this album. The instrumentals on this album, especially the guitars and the bass, are really fantastic. The surf rock influence is quite prevalent throughout the whole album, with certain licks and riffs feeling like they’re straight out of the 60s. The slacker rock influence is also felt throughout the album, with the fuzzed-out guitars taking center-stage on many of the tracks.
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Shapes Have Fangs – Dinner in the Dark (2012)
This release from the Austin-based rock band, Shapes Have Fangs, is a great example of a psych-garage fusion record. The album is filled with great guitar riffs and percussion. The bassist is also really fantastic, keeping the bassline spunky and bouncy. The penultimate track, “Sulphur and Mercury”, is such an interesting tastebreaker. I can only describe it as the backtrack for an alien abduction. The final track on the record feels like it has some country-western influence, which makes for a really fun, final song.
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Haunted Leather – Gone So Long (2015)
Grand Rapids-based heavy psych outfit Haunted Leather churns out some western-y psychedelia on Gone So Long. Opening on a laid-back track, “Phazed”, with a melodic bassline supported by distorted guitar and vocals, Gone So Long feels like a psychedelic cowboy soundtrack. I really enjoyed the bass throughout the album, and the melodies were really laid back, which was not what I was expecting!
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Allah-Las – Allah-Las (2012)
This self-titled debut album by this Los Angeles-based, psychedelic-surf-rock band is the most surf rock-y release out of the list. As someone who grew up listening to some of the classic surf tunes, I was so stoked to hear this album. It feels very reminiscent of the classics – everything from the guitar tone to the cadence of the vocalist gives heavy nostalgia for this genre. It’s a super strong album with a great concept and execution.
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Holy Wave – Evil Hits (2013)
This compilation album from Texas-based band Holy Wave is absolutely stacked front to back. Sitting squarely in the realm of psychedelia, this record has many fantastic riffs and melodies throughout. I really like the guitars and use of distortion across the record. For a compilation album, the tracks fit pretty well together!
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The Feeling of Love – Reward Your Grace (2013)
This release by French psychedelic-garage outfit The Feeling of Love is a great example of the intersection of garage rock and psychedelia. The album is really consistent – the guitars across the record are really great, carrying melodies and riffs on top of the fuzzed vocals and the keys/synths. I would argue that “Mostly Pet Semen Unit” is the strongest track off the record, due to its tonal shifts and texture across the song, making for a really interesting and varied composition.
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Street Smells – Creamy LP (2012)
New York’s Street Smells is a great example of newer psychedelic bands having a great understanding and execution of the fundamentals of the genre and being able to give it their own twist. Creamy LP is another great garage-psych blend, with solid musicianship. Much in theme with the other releases on this list, I really enjoyed the guitar playing on this LP. “Snake River” is my favorite track from this album – I found that the vocals and instrumentals in this song played off each other really well. I thought the use of equipment feedback on the track was a really interesting textural touch.
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Ride Into the Sun – Ride Into The Sun EP (2013)
Hailing from the Land Down Under, Ride Into the Sun’s self-titled EP features some indie-informed neo psychedelia. The texture across the guitar riffs throughout the record was really interesting. The vocals remind me of early-2010s indie music, and these somewhat surf rocky instrumentals across the EP created a unique blend that evokes this beach rocker image. My favorite track was “These Are The Ones That Shoot”, but a very close second was “Hunt Like Wolves”.
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The Black Angels – Phosgene Nightmare EP (2011)
The Black Angels’ Phosgene Nightmare is a fantastic showcase of experimentation in psychedelia. In between the psych pop, psych rock, and neo-psych influences, there were also some really unexpected (and really cool!) inclusions, like cicadas on “At Night”. I really enjoyed the overall vibe of this record; it feels extremely timeless.
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Heaven’s Gateway Drugs – Apropos EP (2014)
This EP from the Hoosier psychedelic rock group feels very of its time – there seem to be some elements of indie pop and Beatles-esque influences. Apropos leans a little more poppy and upbeat – there are some moments that seem to be very influenced by the poppier songs of the Beatles, especially on “Apropos”. The keyboards and harmonic vocalizations really give an older pop vibe.
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Kingdom of the Holy Sun – Surya’s Smile I (2013)
This album began with pulling me through a trance – the looped guitar melodics and chanted vocals set this album off to a great start with “The Magic Elevators”. While not so reflective of the project as a whole, it did set the tone for repeated elements throughout, such as a “drone” created by the keys on “Bhajan” or similar, repeated riffs. Overall, this album is a really great exploration of a few of the many facets of psychedelic music.
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Wooden Shjips – West (2011)
Space rock and psychedelic music get on like a house on fire. San Francisco-based Wooden Shjips creates a fun and fuzzy excursion into some classic SF psych. I really enjoyed this album; it was super solid, and it’s another album on this list that’s just stacked front to back with great instrumentals and classic psychedelic vocals. My favorite track off of this record is “Home”, though a very, very close second is the opening track, “Black Smoke Rise”.
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Night Beats and The UFO Club – Split EP (2012)
Split EPs, in my experience, can be very hit or miss. I was pleasantly surprised by this collaborative effort between Seattle’s Night Beats and Austin’s The UFO Club. The first half of the split, performed by The UFO Club, felt like it leaned more into psychedelics than garage. “Chapel in My Mind” was definitely the highlight, though the very unexpected cover of The Ronette’s “Be My Baby” was a fun surprise! The second half, performed by Night Beats, felt a bit more informed by space rock, especially on “A Night With Nefertiti”.
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The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Revelation (2014)
Revelation opens with “Vad hände med dem?”, which is a track that I could definitely see fitting in with plenty of other neo-psych hits from the era. The jaunty melodies throughout the track made for such a great opener on this album. The guitars across this album are really lovely and fit in so well with the vocalist; they do also feel so incredibly 2014, which was a really fun bit on nostalgia for the album’s runtime.
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The Orange Drop – Catharsis (2011)
I was not expecting the opening track to this super garage-y psychedelic album to be in French! This makes for the second appearance of French psychedelic-garage on this list. “Qui est-tu?” (who are you?) set the tone for the remainder of the album. I really enjoyed the track “More Fire”; it had the same lo-fi production quality as the rest of the album but it also had some really amazing tension that was built up through the first half of the song.
