Psychedelic rock is far from dead, and these five bands have proved it. If you’re into psychedelic rock from the 1960s but want to explore what new gifts the genre has to offer in the 2020s, check out these five excellent psychedelic rock bands! Just keep in mind that psychedelia is just one aspect of these five bands; their music features notable elements of other genres.
1. Elder
Elder is one of many psychedelic rock bands that has been breathing new life into the genre since the early 2000s. Originally from the US, the Germany-based outfit is also known for their prog-rock and doom metal works.
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In our opinion, they’ve gotten more psychedelic through the years. Omens from 2020 is one of their best psych-rock works. The 2015 album Lore is another great record that marks the start of the band’s experimentation with psychedelia.
2. The Murlocs
If you’re a fan of Australia’s unique brand of psychedelic rock, you’ve probably already heard The Murlocs’ 2014 album Loopholes. If not, you definitely need to give it a listen; especially if you love late-1960s psychedelic rock with a little bit of a sunny California feel to it.
Cook Craig and Ambrose Kenny-Smith are also members of King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, another psychedelic rock outfit that even marginal psych-rock fans should listen to.
3. The Black Angels
This Texas-based psych-rock outfit was a major part of the Austin music scene in the early-to-late 2000s, where they launched Levitation Music Festival for other psych-rock outfits to get together. They’ve toured with the likes of Roky Erickson (of 13th Floor Elevators) and made a pretty good name for themselves.
If you love classic psychedelic rock as well as garage rock, you’ll love their debut Passover from 2006.
4. Black Mountain
You can hear the punk rock influences behind Black Mountain, even if they’re pretty far removed from punk as a psychedelic rock band. That being said, the rebellious attitude of punk is very obvious in their music.
They’ve been around for two decades, but only have a handful of records out as of 2024. It’s a shame that their discography is so limited, but what they have produced leaves little to complain about. IV from 2016 is essential listening.
5. Causa Sui
This Danish rock outfit is far from underrated in Europe, where they’re been an influential part of the psychedelic rock revival scene for the better part of two decades. Most of their work is very much psych-rock with a stoner rock vibe, but Szabodelico from 2020 is one of their trippiest pieces of work.
Photo via The Black Angels’ official X page
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