Best Psychedelic Garage Rock 2019
2019 psychedelic garage rock was strong and growing becoming more exciting by the year. There is no hard way to define what list any given band should be on but these bands are bringing in the next decade with inspiration an reverb!
Best Space Rock 2019 has a unique set of 20 additional psychedelic favorites with a heavier space rock krautrock vibe.
1. Frankie and The Witch Fingers ZAM (LA, California/ Greenway Records)
Frankie and The Witch Fingers are just amazing and ZAM is 2LP of non-stop neck splitting psychedelic garage rock. “Pleasure” is a great single and the live performances are highly satisfying. The guitar tones, the echoed vocals, the entire brew of retro rock with contemporary psych is highly inspired and pulses with life-force.
Frankie and The Witch Fingers ZAM
2. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Infest The Rats Nest (Melbourne, Australia / Flightless Records)
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Infest The Rats Nest is sick, totally amazing technicalities and overall message and sound. The political lyrics tell a story of a world in danger. With impassioned songs like “Planet B” which is a phrase from the climate justice movement. Its pretty heavy metal for garage rock but its King Gizzard They are the Kings.
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Infest The Rats Nest
3. Oh Sees Face Stabber (LA, California, Castleface Records)
Oh Sees Face Stabber is a blazing album with longer jams and psychedelic fuzz. John Dwyers has changed up his fuzz tone for this one and added another member to the band on organs and synth. The band creates many new sounds, gets abstract and delivers ripping psych rock.
4. L’Èpée Diabolique (France / UK, A Records)
L’Épée Diabolique is a rocking album with spaced out guitars male female vocals pop music with Marie Limiñana of The Limiñanas and Emmanuelle Seigner on lead vocal. The album excellent with impossibly skilled songwriters and performers in the underground rock scene including Anton Newcombe all coming together to make a unique and entertaining album.
5. Mdou Moctar – Ilana: The Creator (Mali, Sahel Sounds)
Mdou Moctar is called the Jimi Hendrix of the Sahara and Ilana features him taking desert blues to a more experimental place with insatiable energy and upbeat traditional songs of friendships and love. Mdou Moctar is incredible live and will be a force in guitar for years to come.
6. Altin Gün – Gece (Amsterdam, ATO Records)
Altin Gün Gece is the 1970’s psychedelic Turkish album you always wished existed with Middle East rhythms, retro rock fuzz guitars, electronic synth and beats. Most upbeat album on my 2019 playlists!
7. Rose City Band (Portland, USA / Jean Sandwich Records)
Rose City Band is a side project from Ripley Johnson of Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips. The guitars are laid back with psychedelic effects to give it his distinctive style. Song of these songs have catchy and emotive choruses which keep this album plying in the back of my mind. the music is chill wave psych rock.
8. Shana Cleveland Night Of The Worm (Seattle, Washington Hardly Art Records)
Shana Cleveland Night Of The Worm Moon
Shana Cleveland of La Luz turns has released a magical solo album Night Of The Worm Moonwith rich compositions and masterful acoustic guitar playing. The music is folk rock with inspiration from the American Primitive guitar school of the 1960’s and 70’s with her impressive finger picking and unusual twists and turns. The songs are quite gentle yet captivating and well written. The arrangements are tops with beautiful guitar playing and backing arrangements with keyboards, organ, drums, bass subtley layered.
9. Allah-lahs -Lahs (LA California Mexican Summer)
Allah Las LAHS is a sun bleached postcard with classic retro tones, satisfying layered arrangements, catchy vocals and dreamy ocean waves of sunshine daydreams. Filled with songwriting talent on full display with pop songs, and soundtrack pieces and influences from every era of surfy laid-back rock. The music creates a visual experience of palms blowing in the sunny beaches.
10. Minami Deutsch – Can’t Get There EP (Japan, Höga Nord Rekords)
Minami Deutsch really blew me away at the Filmore In San Francisco opening for Kikagaku Moyo. They are an emerging band with a killer krautrock Japanese psych sound. Keeping my eyes out for the next full length!
11. Chris Forsyth – All Time Present (No Quarter)
Chris Forsyth All Time Present
Chris Forsyth All Time Present is inspiring psychedelic rock music, Chris Forsyth has a refined sonic aesthetic that is a pleasure to listen to. If this was a drug it would be a pure psychedelic with a clear clean high that can become overwhelmingly mind expanding and crystalline beautiful.
It goes from clean guitar drones to layered space rock jams with glittering guitar tones that blow-up into fluid experimental rock. Vocals act both as traditional verses and as harmonizing instruments adding to the surrealistic landscapes.
12. White Manna – Ape On Sunday – UK Cardinal Fuzz
White Manna Ape On Sunday is the 6th full length from this Artaca, California band. The album is on Cardinal Fuzz Records June 28th on vinyl with full color insert and downloads. The music has long form compositions with reverb, fuzz, echo, rhthem, guitar and synth. They dive into deep space with kosmische and krautrock inspirations.
13. Los Mundos Calor Central (Mexico, Cardinal Fuzz / Little Cloud Recordings)
Los Mundos Calor Central is fuzz heavy riff and bass driven music with sacred Earth medicine vibes. The theme of Psychedelic Journey spans the album. This is their heaviest album to date with punchy rhythms, reverberated expansive vocals and exciting songs.
14. Night Beats Sonic Boom (Austin Texas Heavenly Recordings)
Night Beats Perform “The Sonics” Boom
Night Beats Perform “The Sonics” Sonic Boom is a record store day exclusive, ltd. to 500 copies and it is a special treat. The Sonics of the Pacific Northwest USA are foundational for rock and punk music today. Sonic Boom was originally released in 1966 and shook the world with songs like “Louie Louie”. Night Beats parallels in that they are from the underground garage rock scene in the Northwest and thrive on high energy rock and roll.
15. The Black Heart Death Cult The Black heart Death Cult (Australia Oak Island Records / Germany)
The Black Heart Death Cult released a great album in 2019 garage rock leaning toward shoegaze. definate a good album.
16. Night Beats Myth Of A Man (Texas, USA; Heavenly Recordings)
Night Beats released their fourth full-length album Myth Of A Man. This effort marks a new direction highlighting the songwriting of Danny Lee Blackwell (front man guitarist) in collaboration with Dan Auerbach and other guest writers. The touring band for Night Beats was not involved in the writing and production of the album. The performances on Myth Of A Manare from Blackwell, and a host of Nashville session musicians for a tight vintage sound.
17. Mooon Safari (Dutch, Bickerton Records)
Mooon Safari is the second album from the Dutch trio and it is an enthusiastic album with authentically 1960’s psychedelic pop. They hit the golden vintage fuzz guitar, 12 string jangle, vintage compact organs, and whimsical harmonies. They also blend in contemporary west coast USA retro rock. The album sounds awesome is well mixed and is so much fun!
18. Levitation Room Headspace (LA, California / Greenway Records NY)
Levitation Room brings the vintage vibes and L.A. sound to Headspace. Their sound is British Invasion 1960’s rock with contemporary California surf-gaze.The fuzz vintage guitar tones are dreamy and the steady keys and organ are sun bleached with retro L.A. flavor. The vocals drift, echo and phase and the arrangements build together for a full spectrum sound.
19. Lorelle Meets The Obsolete – De Facto (France, South Cathedral Recordings)
20. Cherry Glazerr – Stuffed and Ready (LA, Secretly Canadian)
21. Stonefield – BENT (Australia, Flightless)
22. Possum Space Grade Assembly (Canada, Garment District)
Possum Space Grade Assembly is spaced out fuzz rock from Toronto Canada. They blast off with wild guitar tones stoner rock swagger and experimental flair. The music can even slip inside garage rock tones, shoegaze and space rock.
23. Muun Bato (Minnesota USA / Self Released)
Muun Bato’s debut LP is outstanding with lush arrangements, impressive songwriting and deep sonic atmospheres. In the style of alternative dream pop with shoegaze, garage rock. The songs vary from subtle and atmospheric to full-out distorted space rock.
24. The Kundalini Genie It’s All In Your Head (UK Captain Bee Fart Records (EU) and Little Cloud Records USA)
The Kundalini Genie has an uplifting garage rock sound with classic psychedelia.
Thank you so much and yes we do all need psychedelic rock acid folk music in 2021 we need more hippies in our world. Peace n love brother.
Very informative!!! Thanks my friend, can’t wait wait until the next one!!! Much love from dmtworld.net!!!