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Spacemen 3 Big City (1990)
‘Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was “colourfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the 1960s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia” Spacemen 3 came to prominence on the independent music scene around 1989, gaining a cult following. However, they disbanded shortly afterwards, releasing their final studio album post-split in 1991 after an acrimonious parting of ways. They gained a reputation as a ‘drug band’ due to the members’ drug taking habits and the candid interviews and outspoken views of Kember about recreational drug use. Kember and Pierce were the only members common to all line-ups of the band. Both founding members have enjoyed considerable success with their subsequent projects, Sonic Boom/Spectrum and Spiritualized.’ — collaged
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Sun Dial Exploding in Your Mind (1990)
‘Sun Dial’s first album came out in 1990, but it was as determinedly retro an effort as anything released that year; Gary Ramon and his bandmates clearly worshiped at the altar of all that was psychedelic, and there wasn’t the smallest bit of irony in their approach on Other Way Out. Many latter-day psych bands sound as if they’re trying as hard as they can to capture the lysergic sound of the late ’60s, but Sun Dial never betray any such effort: they simply seem to have dropped through a wormhole in time from the UFO Club into Balham Market, and their natural and unaffected embrace of drifting melodic structures, guitars floating on clouds of fuzz, phase shift and wah-wah, splashy drumming that colors the music as much as keeping time and firm, thick basslines that anchored the music in some sort of reality are genuine enough to convince most folks who haven’t looked at the liner notes that this was put to tape in 1969, not 1989.’ — allmusic
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Butthole Surfers No, I’m Iron Man (1991)
‘Coming off a backlog of LP’s and EP’s that had yet to disappoint and after a frustratingly long wait since Hairway to Steven, Pioughed showed that The Buttholes could make a bad album. Taken in isolation, Pioughed isn’t a total write off. The problem lies in the fact that it sounds like a band trying to sound like The Butthole Surfers. In bits it’s convincing. ‘PSY’ and ‘Blindman’ are passable 2nd rate Butthole’s songs and the 1st 20 seconds of ‘No, I’m Iron Man’ is hilarious, but mostly its just awful. ‘Lonesome Bulldog’, ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’, ‘Something’, ‘Golden Showers’ all stink both lyrically and musically (why the awful country music parody… why the horrible J+tMC pastiche?). The whole thing is aimless and pointless.’ — Smelsch
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Cheops O.T (1991)
‘A space/psychedelic rock band from Newcastle, this band have been around some time having formed in the early 1980’s with the purpose of playing the festival circuit, culminating in an appearance at the 1984 Stonehenge festival. In 1991, the band released their first cassette. Flirting briefly with the name Space Case, the band began to get support gigs for the likes of Nik Turner and the Lloyd Langton Group.’ — Panda Paul
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Mercury Rev Chasing a Bee (1991)
‘With their early records, Mercury Rev offered experimental, psychedelic rock, which gradually shifted to a melodic, ornate sound. Mercury Rev is often compared to The Flaming Lips, and in fact share close ties: soon after the band’s formation, Donahue also joined the Flaming Lips as second guitarist and appeared on two of their albums; and since the 1990 album In a Priest Driven Ambulance, Dave Fridmann has co-produced every Flaming Lips studio album to date except 1993’s Transmissions from the Satellite Heart. A music video for the song “Chasing A Bee” was shot at an abandoned infectious disease hospital that once housed “Typhoid Mary” on North Brother Island in New York City, and was directed by Jim Spring and Jens Jurgensen.’ — collaged
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Dr Phibes and the House of Wax Equations Hazy Lazy Hologram (1991)
‘Dr. Phibes and the House of Wax Equations were an English psychedelic rock band, formed in 1989 in Crewe, Cheshire. They were composed of vocalist and guitarist Lawrence Howard King Jr., bassist Lee Patrick Belsham and drummer Keith York. The band were regulars in the UK Indie Chart and had some links with other local bands in the North West. On 16 February 1997, Lawrence Howard King Jr. was charged by North Wales Police for the murder of his mother, Avril Fiona King, two days earlier at their shared home in Connah’s Quay in north east Wales. King Jr., who stabbed and beat his mother, was jailed for life at Caernarfon Crown Court.’ — collaged
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Cul de Sac Death Kit Train (1992)
‘Shunning the burgeoning alternative rock movement, Cul de Sac intertwined elements of surf rock, Krautrock, Middle Eastern trance and folk music, post-rock psychedelia, and avant-garde to create a unique blend that garnered immediate critical attention. Formed in the early ’90s by guitarist Glenn Jones, multi-instrumentalist Robin Amos, formerly of the Girls, and Bullet La Volta drummer Chris Guttmacher, Cul de Sac released their first LP, Ecim, on the independent Northeastern label. Early live shows were enhanced by the experimental films of Fujiwara and A.S. Hamrah, adding to the band’s eclectic mystique. Their original compositions and recordings have been enhanced by instruments of their own creation, including the Contraption and the Incantor.’ — collaged
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Love Battery Dayglo (1992)
‘Formed by singer/guitarist Ron Nine and drummer Jason Finn (veterans of local warhorses Room Nine and Skin Yard, respectively), Love Battery had a mighty impressive unveiling in the form of the classic 1989 single “Between the Eyes,” later expanded as the lead track of a six-song Australian EP which was itself expanded into a domestic LP. The full-length Between the Eyes includes four songs from the Dayglo sessions that are far better than mere outtakes, including a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Ibiza Bar.” Nothing on Dayglo approaches the headbang- necessitating riffery of “Between the Eyes,” but the superfuzzed overkill that guitarist Kevin Whitworth wrings from songs like “Out of Focus” brings on wooziness faster than a liquid light show.’ — Trouser Press
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Zendik Orgaztra Strontium Rain (1992)
‘Band formed by residents of the hippie art commune Zendik Farm and its leader Wulfgang Zendik. This was the californian branch, which later relocated to Florida.’ — discogs
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Brian Jonestown Massacre Crushed (1993)
‘The Brian Jonestown Massacre began as a shoegazing group in San Francisco in 1988. After their debut and sophomore albums, the group quickly turned to a broader style of psychedelic rock incorporating folk, blues, raga, and later, electronica influences. The name “Brian Jonestown Massacre” is a portmanteau of The Rolling Stones’ founder and guitarist Brian Jones and the infamous mass cult suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. They have gained media notoriety for their tumultuous working relationships and the drug addiction of their leader, Anton Newcombe.‘ — collaged
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The Flaming Lips Pilot Can at the Queer of God (1993)
‘The addition of guitarist Ronald Jones and drummer Steven Drozd recharges the Flaming Lips’ batteries for the superb Transmissions From the Satellite Heart, another prismatic delicacy that continues the group’s drift toward pop nirvana. In typical fashion, the record’s left-field hit, the freak-show singalong “She Don’t Use Jelly,” bears little resemblance to the album as a whole; the remainder of Transmissions is much more sonically and structurally ambitious — the towering “Moth in the Incubator” keeps generating new layers of noise before erupting into an amphetamine waltz, “Pilot Can at the Queer of God” dive-bombs with kamikaze recklessness, and the slow-burning “Oh My Pregnant Head” is as mind-expanding as its title.’ — collaged
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Opel Winter Morning/First Light (1994)
‘OPEL were a four-piece female-fronted band that was active circa 1994-1999. They played the late 60s-like psychedelic rock & acid-folk. Aside of self-released cassettes, unfortunately they didn’t accomplish any official release back then. In late autumn 2017, OPEL released online The Bough At Jacobs Rake the album as an archival release.’ — daoubourg
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Polvo Tragic Carpet Ride (1994)
‘Polvo is widely considered to be standard bearer of a genre which came to be known as math rock, although in interviews the band disavowed that categorization. Their sound was defined by complex and dissonant guitar harmonies and driving rhythm, complementing cryptic, often surrealist lyrics. Their sound was so unpredictable and angular that the band’s guitarists were often accused of failing to play with correctly tuned guitars. Polvo’s songs and artwork frequently featured Asian/”exotic” themes and references. The band’s name means “octopus” in Portuguese and “powder” or “dust” in Spanish; in Spain it also is a slang word for sex.’ — collaged
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Further California Bummer (1994)
‘Before anything there was Further. They’ve been a huge influence for so many bands in Los Angeles and the world. Here is one of their classic songs.’ — dublab
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The Asteroid #4 No More Vitamins (1995)
‘Asteroid #4’s Introducing folds and blends in on itself like the long rays of a setting sun shimmering through the trees, like coloured oil on water, morphing into shapeless avenues that teeter through time. Coloured trails sweep by at the speed of sound, yet seem to take forever to pass, only to have another, and then another wash in together and explode on the irises of your half closed eyes.’ — streetmouse
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Elf Power Grand Intrusion Call (1995)
‘island on the wall / grand intrusion call / unicorns and antelope / erase their nowhere glow // deeply drifting spies / rolling through the sky / unicorns and antelope / erase their nowhere glow // enter at the light / forceful fits of fright’ — Elf Power
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The Olivia Tremor Control The Opera House (1996)
‘The Olivia Tremor Control is a psychedelic rock band that was prominent in the mid-to-late 1990s. The band’s distinct sound is a mixture of Doss and Hart’s pop and experimental tendencies. This chemistry is evident in their albums given that some tracks are 2–3 minute songs, while others are electro-acoustic collages ranging in length from 2 seconds to 10 minutes, and differing in content from vibrant horns to near silence. The band is influenced by the odd quality inherent in dreams and asked their listeners to send in tapes describing their own, examples of which can be heard in the final track of Black Foliage and the OTC-BSN collaborative LP. While their debut album Dusk at Cubist Castle focuses more on complex vocal harmonization and upbeat melodies, Black Foliage is more noise-oriented, with more feedback samples and tape loops.’ — collaged
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Fishmans Long Season 3 (1996)
‘If Long Season had never been released, Fishmans would be remembered as an act that reached relatively humble success in Japan, but nothing more. They would have drifted away into obscurity, and that would be the end of their story. There would be no live album like 98.12.28, there would be no resurgence in their popularity in the age of the internet, but most importantly, the band’s other great projects would cease to exist in the public eye. Luckily, that’s not the case, as Long Season is Fishmans’ moment of triumph. It’s the moment they broke from their reggae cocoon and spread their psychedelic wings, leaving an imprint on any listener blessed enough to come across this masterpiece.’ — Album of the Year
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Super Furry Animals Something 4 The Weekend (1996)
‘Super Furry Animals are probably influenced by recreational chemicals. They draw from a deep well of 1960s and 1970s influences, merging the madcap iconoclasm of early Frank Zappa and Syd Barrett with the skewed melodic majesty of Brian Wilson and the British art-pop group the Soft Machine. On Fuzzy Logic, SFA openly play their hand in “Something 4 the Weekend”: “First time I did it for the hell of it/Stuck it on the back of my tongue/And swallowed it.” But while Fuzzy Logic is rich in hallucinogenic spirit and shimmering guitars, SFA also evoke the decadent ’70s pop of Mott the Hoople and David Bowie, while the album’s celestial-flute passages and overdrive-guitar storms resemble those of America’s own Mercury Rev.’ — Rolling Stone, 1996
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Acid Mothers Temple Speed Guru (1996)
‘Kawabata Makoto initially formed Acid Mothers Temple (originally “Acid Mother’s Temple”) with the intention of creating “extreme trip music” by editing and dubbing previous recordings, being influenced by progressive rock, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and krautrock. Kawabata, along with Koizumi Hajime, Suhara Keizo, and Cotton Casino formed the original Acid Mother’s Temple lineup as a group; however, the first recordings released were Kawabata’s own mixes and overdubs. The band released two self-titled tapes on their eponymous label in 1996 before dropping the apostrophe from their name. They soon released their first self-titled album. The group began to tour overseas in 1998.’ — collaged
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Oneida Salad Days (1997)
‘Oneida is a rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their influences include psychedelic rock, krautrock, electronic, noise rock, and minimalism, but the overall structure and intent of their music cannot be easily traced to any of these styles. Common elements found in their music include improvisation, repetition, driving rhythms, antique and analog equipment, and an overall eclecticism. A prominent aspect of Oneida’s music is their use of repetition. Oneida’s music can also be distinguished by the band’s use of antique keyboards and analog electric pianos.’ — collaged
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The Legendary Pink Dots Hellsville (1997)
‘Founded in 1980, the Dutch band Legendary Pink Dots takes place in the field of experimental and psychedelic music. The band is fronted by Edward Ka-Spel who doubles as singer and chief lyric writer, but other members including Phil Knight (The Silverman), Erik Drost and Raymond Steeg make up the current lineup of the band. The sound is often made up of a conglomerate of electronics, saxophones, guitars, drums and Ka-Spel’s distinctive voice and lyrical invention. Although distinctly underground, the band have been musically influential over the years. Their name was derived from pink dots of nail varnish on the piano in their squat, where founding members Edward and April lived. Their music is nothing if not original and it is difficult to categorise, but comparisons may be drawn with bands like Pink Floyd and Can.’ — collaged
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The Chemical Brothers The Private Psychedelic Reel (1997)
‘“The Private Psychedelic Reel” is what Britpop should have been: brimful of confidence, but also a feast of sound and quite unlike anything the charts had played host to before. You grope for reference points – My Bloody Valentine’s “Soon” after eight pints of lager? – but nothing fits. The Chemical Brothers’ guest-stars policy has never paid off so handsomely as here: approaching Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue to fuzz up and enlighten “…Reel” was an act of curatorial genius. It’s not of course possible to exactly define where Donahue ends and the Brothers begin, but that’s hardly the point. “The Private Psychedelic Reel” is that great and rare kind of collaboration where both parties seem to raise their game out of respect for one another – the Chemicals offer a beat of total propulsive acumen and a nagging sitar line to ground the surrounding madness, and with the security of that structure behind him Donahue goes all out for texture. He smears effect after effect over the track, dissolving the edges of every sound until “…Reel” becomes a disorienting head-riot of whistling, chiming, howling and swooping.’ — freaky trigger.co.uk
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Grandaddy A.M. 180 (1997)
‘The solar-powered neo-psychedelic space pop combo Grandaddy were formed in 1992 in Modesto, CA, by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Although a noisy, lo-fi approach characterized early recordings like 1994’s Complex Party Come Along Theories, the addition of guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden in 1995 expanded the band’s sound exponentially, fueling such subsequent efforts as the unreleased Don’t Sock the Tryer and the 1996 EP A Pretty Mess by This One Band. Originally issued on indie label Will Records, 1997’s acclaimed full-length Under the Western Freeway proved to be Grandaddy’s creative breakthrough, and the following year the album was reissued on major label V2, with “Summer Here Kids” earning Single of the Week honors in the pages of the NME.’ — collaged
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Bardo Pond Walking Stick Man (1999)
‘Bardo Pond was formed in Philadelphia in 1989 by guitar-playing brothers Michael and John Gibbons, who’d long had an interest in making free-form noise, though they didn’t pick up non-percussion instruments until attending art school in their twenties. Their first collaborator was guitarist Clint Takeda, a friend of Michael’s who shared their enthusiasm for free music. Over the next two years, the band held twice-weekly jam sessions in their living room. At first, their aesthetic was one of naive, unfettered freedom, but they slowly grew convinced of the need for some semblance of structure and proper instrumental technique. Takeda christened the band Bardo Pond in 1991, after a location described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead.’ — Fire Records
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Walter Ghoul’s Lavender Brigade Hourglass (1999)
‘A collection of songs recorded by a couple of British psychedelia obsessives from Louisiana during the mid-nineties. Damien Youth and Zane Armstrong working under the pseudonyms Julian Starr and Oliver Crumb set out, not to simply create music inspired by the sixties, but rather to become a sixties band. The idea evolved into a fully fledged “band” complete with back story, photos, and period recordings set between 1964 and 1970. The results were reasonably convincing, especially given that the songs were recorded on a 4-track cassette recorder with lousy guitars, a cheap keyboard, a pawn shop drum machine (AKA Biff), and a handful of effects pedals.’ — b.c.
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Boredoms 7 (1999)
‘There may be no other band in the world that has traced a history quite like Japan’s Boredoms. Across over 20 years, founder and leader Eye, along with frequent collaborator Yoshimi, has taken the band on a cosmic road trip, from the early swamps of chaos through times of tribal frenzy, oceanic tranquility, and massive sonic constructions. Perhaps most remarkable is the unceasing commitment to vision above all else, and the effects of that Commitment. The influence of Boredoms in underground, experimental, noise, and performance-based music cannot be overstated. The early Boredoms seemingly harnessed that chaotic energy and began melding it into a No Wave-influenced rock format. The first release under the name Boredoms appeared in 1986. The frenetic, maniacal live show cemented their reputation. The incredible rhythmic power, clever melodic punches, and sheer chaotic intensity of the band to play off each other in ways that had perhaps never been heard or seen before. From their associations with bands like Sonic Youth to their explosive tours through the U.S. and Europe, the Boredoms were partially responsible for opening the eyes of listeners in this country to the possibilities of the Japanese music scene.’ — The Windish Agency
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p.s. Hey. Let me say right off the bat that I don’t know if the Jorma Kaukonen who guest-curated today’s gig is the Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane. I asked, and he/she/they wouldn’t answer. So while it’s humanly possible that one of the great fathers of psychedelic music chose my humble blog as a place to give some props to some of his neo-psychedelic offspring, it seems highly unlikely, and yet … ** Dominick, Hi!!!! I am ever at your confidence’s disposal. The hacking thing is rather lazy this time. I only get an alert email every, oh, hour or two. Which makes it seem even less serious, although I guess the deliberateness could be more ominous? Ha ha, you know, when I found that adderall-infused escort there was a moment when I thought, you know, my living room does need a rage cleaning. I’m with you. Getdown was absolutely the mind-scrambling king of the bunch for me too. Sigh. Love air-lifting Mexico City and fitting it over Budapest like a glove, G. ** Sypha, Hm, if I get an idea for a novel set in the Middle Ages — now that would be a self-challenge if there ever was one — I’ll consult the Gies. Thanks for the fill in. You good, buddy? Your summer winding down in a respectful manner? ** Misanthrope, You liked the athletes, did you? Fifth fattest … could have been worse given you were in the southern portion of the USA. Anyway, one more birthday conquered. As someone living where there’s been an indoor mask policy for almost two years, I would say it’s a small price and there is a reason. I saw those goodreads reviews the other day or week. Yeah, my books always get some of those ‘pretentious, confusing, I don’t get it’ reviews. C’est la. Oh, I actually think someone could read ‘I Wished’ without having read me before with no problem at all, but what do I know. Crack your week wide open. ** Brian, Hey, Brian. Thanks a ton, bud. Right, college is soon, it’s that time of year. Scary, yes, I’m sure, but I suspect that one day, and possibly even soon, you’ll look back on the big move as that time when your life got that big boost. I’m glad you liked ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. I’m definitely pro it, like I probably already said. Favorite Kubrick … ? Push comes to shove, I guess ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Hard to choose one, obviously. The only Kubrick film from the period beginning with ‘Paths of Glory’ that I don’t think is great is ‘Full Metal Jacket’. I think that one got away from him. Congrats on glimpsing the exit of ‘2666’ in the near distance. I’m good, busily working a project I’m excited about. I hope your week ahead exceeds its promise. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, Mr. E. Thanks for the links. That Mahler one looks especially watchable. ** T, Greetings, T! Your recent silence is more than understandable under those circumstances. It does sound purgatorial, but France gleams in anticipation. Coherence is so overrated. High five. I’m good, working on stuff, looking forward to the return of all of my vacationing Parisian friends. I’ve never read ‘Dhalgren’. Weird, right? I must have been gifted copies of it by enthusing friends a half-dozen times over the years, but … Sci-fi is a super weak part of my reading experience. There’s some considerable reluctance there, and the hugeness of books like ‘Dhalgren’ does not help. And your calling it a slog, which is what I’ve always anticipated, will keep all those gifted copies squarely on their shelves. Congratulations, though. I’m of course happy that the ‘scorts brought joy and wonder to you. That’s the least escorts can do, no? My week ahead ending up artful in the way you wish is an exciting yet tall order. Let me see what I can do. Can I wish you the very same? Will that jinx it? I’ll take the chance. xo, DC ** Okay. You have the trippily golden opportunity to psych the fuck out today courtesy of someone who goes by the name of the great Jorma Kaukonen. Later, and see you tomorrow.
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