Back in the late 1960s, when psychedelia in rock music was leading the way, psych bands and artists were cropping up by the day like mushrooms (pun intended).
Their problem with a higher exposure, even if they were picked up by one of the major record labels at the time was that reaching a wider audience was a thing of a chance - the label’s promotional activity, radio play and word of mouth were the thing of the day, and luck was in full play.
These days of all things Internet it should be different story, as exposure possibilities are bountiful, yet luck is in full play. Again.
Psychedelic rock bands worth listening to today
This time, for entirely different reasons. The first is that there are more musical genres (and sub-genres) on offer, and the other is that there might be an overabundance of choices - the wider audience might pick you or might miss you because they simply cannot catch up with everything.
So it just might be an understatement that there is an overabundance of psych bands from then and now that deserve more attention, and it is tough to pick a few, but here are 14 of them that certainly should gain attention now, if some of them didn’t get it at their prime.
July
Well, frankly, there were two British bands called July, both playing psychedelic rock, both worth exploring. However, this one, led by singer/guitarist Tom Newman and guitarist Paul Cook, remains a subject of detailed cult fandom to this day, and for all the right reasons.
They took cues from the California sound of the time, but added a British touch to make it their own. Releasing their self-titled official album in 1968, which was bashed by critics but gained reverence from psych fans, the band reformed in 2009.
Moby Grape
Moby Grape were not an obscure band, as their then label Columbia made a serious effort to promote them at the time, and for all the right reasons, as their self-titled debut album (1967) is one of the rock music classics to this day, psych or otherwise. But the band was plagued by health issues and legal battles from then on, and their later output was criminally underrated by critics and neglected mainly by broader audiences.
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
If there ever was a true example of what psych pop should sound like, then it was this Los Angeles Band that released three official albums (1967-1969), some of their singles gained airplay but the quality of their music never gave them the full attention they deserved, as they were able to combine some nifty song structures with often deceptive psych lyrics.
Maybe it was the fact that not everybody is a fan of peanut butter, chunky or otherwise.
KAK
If you ever picked up a psych rock compilation with a modicum of knowledge and taste, it would have certainly included the languid psych gem that was ‘Lemonade Kid,’ the track from this San Francisco’s sole self-titled album (1968), with the whole album written by the band’s singer/guitarist Gary Lee Yoder.
The album (along with the band itself) went nowhere at the time, but was picked up by psych aficionados, becoming the subject of several bootlegs before its official re-release.
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Another favorite of psych rock fans that missed a bigger slice of the wider audience, even though the band's songs, “Smell of Incense” and “I Won’t Hurt You,” were played and replayed by many bands and artists. They had a somewhat extensive discography of five albums (the fifth mainly by the band’s prominent member, Bob Markley), all cherished by psych-rock fans.
Euphoria
Another short-lived band with just one original album to its name, this two-girls, two-boys quartet was a prime example of how good the folkier side of psychedelic rock can get when combined with sunshine pop. Yet another example when the quality of music doesn’t get you more than the attention of hardcore fans. Of course, the band’s sole album was reissued, but only hardcore fans bought it.
Dream Syndicate
If you need to pick up the timeline of neo-psychedelia in the eighties, you might want to pick up with this band from Los Angeles, which possibly left the deepest mark from the Paisley Underground movement of the early eighties.
Steve Wynn and the crew came up with four excellent studio albums in their original period, with The Days of Wine and Roses leading the way, and their Live at Raji’s (1989) being a serious contender for any best of live albums lists. The band reformed in recent years.
The Bevis Frond
Led by guitarist extraordinaire and longstanding psych rock archivist Nick Saloman, this band has been operating since the mid-1980s to this day and has come up with an extensive series of high-quality psych albums. However, it hasn’t gone further than receiving high praise from critics and attention from psych rock fans and collectors. Both Saloman and the band deserve more.
The Warlocks
The Warlocks are part of the late-1990s psych rock revival, which began incorporating other musical elements. The band’s founder, Bobby Hecksher, didn’t pick this name by chance, as it was previously used by both the Grateful Dead and the Velvet Underground, and the Warlocks drew inspiration from both in their music.
The Olivia Tremor Control
Another nineties psych revival band, part of the original Elephant 6 collective, who through their albums picked up on practically every aspect of psych rock that went on before them - form the more melodic side of The Beatles and The Beach Boys to the more experimental/instrumental side of say, the early Pink Floyd. Sadly, the band’s guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, Will Cullen Hart, passed away in 2024.
The Green Pajamas
This Seattle band is another long-standing offering, as Jeff Kelly and his crew have been operating since 1984. They have released almost 30 albums so far, covering practically every side of psychedelia there is. They have a solid cult following, but certainly deserve more.
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Japanese guitarist Kawabata Makoto has led this mostly instrumental band since 1995, exploring the “trip side” of psych rock, delving into psychedelic depths, Krautrock, and even modern classical music. The list of the band’s recordings goes on and on, and so do the fans' raving about the band’s live shows.
The Telescopes
British musician and artist Stephen Lawrie formed The Telescopes in 1987, and it is another psychedelic band that is still active today. As is the case with many other modern purveyors of psychedelic rock, Lawrie and his band explore nearly every aspect of the genre, but relying on guitar sounds takes first place in their playbook.
Melody’s Echo Chamber
Working in that echo chamber is French musician Melody Prochet, who started using this moniker after collaborating with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. The original first album (2012) had some impact on the album charts at the time, but the three albums that followed should have received more attention for her easy-flowing psychedelia.