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Psychedelic Bands to watch for in 2014

Iyanna Handy| March 24, 2014

Psychedelic music is… an experience. It’s more than just the sound, it’s the feel. It was made to enhance or simulate the effects or feelings produced by psychedelic drugs. If you’re not as experimental with such substances, a good psychedelic song will take you on a sober trip.

 

Psychedelic rock can be described as dreamy, trance-like, alternative, or my favorite description, trippy. I think the trippy feel is what sets it apart from other rock and music genres all together. But what makes psychedelic music, psychedelic? It’s the way artists use common instruments in a different way, such as using recording techniques such as phasing, swooshing, echoing, etc. to make the singer’s voice and/or the instruments sound different than they usually would. However, there are certain instruments that can add to that unorthodox sound, like the sitar- an instrument that looks like a much smaller guitar, and the tabla- a pair of drums. Both of which are indian instruments.

 

Now a days, psychedelic music is referred to as neo-psychedelic, (which just means a newer form of psychedelic music from when it originated). You will also see it referred to as “experimental rock,” “acid rock,” “space rock,” etc. All three titles are suitable for this genre. Psychedelic music started in the 1960’s with bands like The Beatles, The Byrds, Pink Floyd, The Who, any many more. Right now I’m going to give you a list of eight kickass neo-psychedelic bands and artists you should listen to.

It sounds like a collection, but is actually one man by the name of Dayve Hawk, from New Jersey. As far as neo-psychedelia, he was the first solo psychedelic artist I’ve listened to. Releasing his first LP Seek Magic in 2009, he has released two other projects, Player Piano (2011), and Grace/confusion (2012) since then. His music is unique in that he produces sounds from things other than instruments. For example he used a bicycle pump in his song, “Bicycle.” His style reminds me of solo artist Toro y Moi, who also makes psychedelic, trance-like music. Memory Tapes also has other names, Weird Tapes or Memory Cassettes. For more on Memory Tapes, visit weirdtapes.blogspot.com.

Memory Tapes

Formed between the years 2002-2005, and a band you may have heard of before, MGMT is a band of six members: Andrew VanWyngarden, Ben Goldwasser, Will Bermah, Matt Asti, James Richardson, and Hank Sullivant. They released their first album Oracular Spectacular in 2007, and in 2010, they were Grammy nominated for the “Best New Artist” award.

 

Some of their more popular songs are “Electric Feel,” ”Kids,” and “Time To Pretend.” “Electric Feel” and ”Kids” gets stuck in my head for at least a few days every time I listen to them. “Time to Pretend” has a really good beat, and the vocals sound great in this song. My favorite lines are “This is our decision/ Yo live fast and die young/ We’ve got the vision/ Now, lets have some fun!” Ahh... so young, so reckless. Even better, they then sing “Yeah it’s overwhelming/ But what else can we do/ Get jobs in offices/ And wake up for the morning news?”, nothing to model your life by, but it’s fun to sing along to in the moment. “Time to Pretend” is my favorite of the three. In their earlier days, MGMT opened for Of Montreal promoting their Time to Pretend LP.

MGMT

A very interesting band from Athens, Georgia released their first album Cherry Peel in 1997, before I was old enough to even begin to understand or appreciate psychedelic music. Since then, they have released 11 albums. Their music is more like a psychedelic pop, but at the same time, they can be sort of soulful. Of Montreal is a part of the Elephant 6 recording company, a collection of independent bands of the 90’s

 

I stumbled upon this group on youtube. I was randomly checking out new artists and I saw “A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger,” a song from their 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?. I clicked on it and enjoyed the light hearted feel to the song. I figured I’d listen to another song of theirs since really liked the first one, and because it was different from what I was listening to at the time. The next was “Gronlandic Edit” from the same album. This song started off a little slower, then they sang the bridge, “I guess it would be nice to give my heart to a god, but which one/ Which one do I cho-oo-oo-oo-oo-oose/ All the church is filled with losers, psycho or confused/ I just want to hold the divine in mind/ And forget all the beauty’s wasted.” The age old tale of how people feel about religion... there are so many gods, which one is right for you? The people in the church are not the best examples. A pretty controversial quote if you ask me, but leave it up to Of Montreal to shake things up.

 

One of the things that sets them apart from the rest, besides the incredible way they showcase their vocal skills, they have songs ranging from all different subjects. “Gronlandic Edit” touches on religion, the comical nature in the chorus in “She’s a Rejector,” the beautiful love song in “We Will Commit Wolf Murder,” and they even have a song about homosexual love in “When a Man is In Love With a Man.” Is Of Montreal a gay band? In a 2010 interview on nymag.com lead singer Kevin Barnes explained that gay men had a better impression on him than straight men. He went on to say that he’s been open to being with another man, but he is not gay. In fact, he is married and has a daughter. I told you they were interesting.

Of Montreal

Not to be confused with Memory Tapes, this band also started in the 90’s and they were also a part of Elephant 6. They released their first album 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad in 1999 and have four other albums under their belts. While listening to “Majesty,” I can’t help but think that the lead singer Julian Koster sounds similar to Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal, and just like them, The Music Tapes have been categorized as “experimental pop.” But don’t be so quick to mirror the two groups. While Of Montreal has many albums that straddle the lines of different music genres, The Music Tapes released 2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking, a story album. Exactly... who does that? Talk about straying from the norm. The story is about a young boy named Nigh who lives with his blind grandmother. While listening to the album, I thought the story was just an intro. Then it continued on and on, and I got sucked in. The Music Tapes definitely left a mark on my memory with the story album because it was unexpected, and I personally haven’t known any other psychedelic artist to do so. Not that I’m encouraging the idea, but I can appreciate that the story album just adds to what makes The Music Tapes unique.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, the most perfect example of neo-psychedelic music. Tame Impala, also from Perth, Australia, and are on the same record label as Pond, Modular Recordings, which comes at no surprise. I find it satisfying that with all they share in common, Tame Impala is not interchangeable with Pond.

 

Tame Impala has only had two albums, Innerspeaker in 2010 and Lonerism in 2012. Needless to say, I love both. The first song I’ve ever heard by them was “Mind Mischief.” This song will always hold good memories for me because it was suggested by someone very special, and this was the first psychedelic music video I watched. The images in the video, and most other psychedelic videos were very strange, but related so much to the concept of the song it made it cool. The song is about a guy who fantasizes about a girl, but she isn’t into him the way he would like. I know many young boys can relate because in the video, a boy has these same fantasies for his teacher. Not one I can relate to, but Tame Impala has other songs that have tapped into my feelings, like “Make Up Your Mind” and “It’s Not Meant To Be.” Plus other feel good songs like, “Solitude is Bliss” and “Alter Ego.” They are one of my favorite bands out of all the genres I listen to.

The Music Tapes

Warning! This band is not for the closed minded. If you are not into unorthodoxy, just go to the next band on the list. Okay, now that you are prepared, we can talk about the Japanese collective that is Acid Mother’s Temple. This is a group of musicians, artists, dancers, farmers, etc. consisting of about 30 members, led by Kawabata Makoto. In 1998, they started an AMT family record label, but have been releasing music since 1997. Inside of Acid Mothers Temple, we have Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. (underground freak out). They have a 60 minute long track called “The Beautiful Blue Ecstasy.” It has VERY few lyrics, those of which I cannot understand anyway. What’s the point if you can’t even understand the lyrics?

 

Psychedelic music is an experience, remember? The music is supposed to keep you interested, and good psychedelic music can do that while sober, or…on a trip. Well, this track is space rock to the core, and definitely something to trip to. Not promoting drug usage, but hey, do what you do. As a matter of fact, Acid mothers Temple’s motto is “Do whatever you want, don’t do whatever you don’t want.” How fitting.

 

Their music consists of many strange sounds that you’re probably not used to hearing in a song. I was listening to “Attack from Planet Hattifatteners,” a track from one of their 2006 albums, Have You Seen the Other Side of the Sky, and I started to look around for my phone because I could have sworn I heard it vibrating. When I saw that I had no notifications, I realized that the sound was actually coming from the track. Yeah, I felt stupid, but I got over that quickly and tuned back in because I didn’t want to miss anything else interesting going on in the song. This band isn’t for everyone, but if you can be open minded, you’ll be able to find an appreciation for them as well.

Acid Mother's Temple

A rather new artist ,Trevor Powers had his start in 2010 when he released his first album, The Year of Hibernation. The second, Wondrous Bughouse, was released in 2013. Both of the albums have the same relaxed feel, so I’m thinking that maybe that’s his signature sound. I can’t choose which album I like better, but two of my favorite songs, “17” and “July” come from the first one. In “17” he says “When I was 17/ My mother told me don’t stop imagining/ The day you do is the day you die.” I love to encouragement to keep your dreams alive. “July” is a story about love. How he had to let it go, how he was sad and over it, and how he then realized that love hasn’t found him yet. It seems like a very personal song, and don’t we all just love to invade the privacy of the artists behind the music? Maybe it’s just me, but these Youth Lagoon’s two albums are definitely something to chill out, listen to, and think about.

Youth Lagoon

From Perth, Australia, this band has a lot going on as far as its members. They have studio members, and some members that only play live. Sounds strange, but considering that they share members with another band, Tame Impala, it’s probably the only way they could survive.

 

The lead singer Nick Allbrook was a member of Tame Impala, but he recently left the group to focus on Pond. They dropped their first album Psychedelic Mango in 2009. Very shortly after, they dropped their second album Corridors of Blissterday that same year! Then in 2010, they released Frond. Their next album, Beard, Wives, Denim was released in 2012.  And their last album, Hobo Rocket, was released in 2013.  Seems like they’ve been busy since they started. I wonder what changes we will see -- if any -- now that the lead singer decided to devote all his time to Pond.

Pond

Tame Impala

A few words…Each artist and band on the list are special in their own ways, whether it’s how great the lead singer sounds, how great the play, or the different sounds and instruments they use in their music. Psychedelic music is in a league of its own, but still manages to not all sound the same. I hope you give each of these artists and bands a chance, and find a favorite as well. Don’t go into it expecting each to sound certain way, just understand that it is more than a genre, it’s a lifestyle for some. So turn your music players on and take a trip.

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