Tag: psych rock

dwellers - corrupt translation machine
Vinyl

Dwellers: Corrupt Translation Machine (2025)

There was a moment during the opening of Corrupt Translation Machine, the third full-length from Salt Lake City’s Dwellers where, returning from a moment of distraction, I could have sworn I was listening to an Alice in Chains song. That’s a huge compliment, because outside of the actual AiC (themselves evolving past their ’90s roots) I can’t think of anyone else embodying this blend of psychedelic doom, grunge, and Americana folk and blues so cohesively. A real surprise of a discovery, but no surprise to have found them on Small Stone Records, fast becoming one of my favorite and most dependable labels for heavy, progressive, and psychedelic rock albums. Add this one to an already impressive list of great releases.

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kadaver - I just want to be a sound
Vinyl

Kadavar: I Just Want To Be A Sound (2025)

This was supposed to be a different review. But I watching a review on YouTube for the latest from German psych/stoner/prog rock band Kadavar for their just-released second album of 2025, Kids Abandoning Destiny Among Vanity And Ruin and we needed to pivot. Not to review that album – the vinyl doesn’t come out until January – but to address the other album the band released this year, the one a lot of critics and content creators rolled their eyes against and fretted and squawked about the change in direction. And yeah, sure: I Just Want To Be A Sound is a bit jarring if you came expecting more of the deep stoner and ’70s rock worship Kadavar have embraced to varying degrees of success since their debut. A few more listens, though, reveal a real sense of adventure and a fine ear for hooks that recall both ’90s and ’00s rock/pop hybrids even as they remain tether to their flared, bellbottom roots.

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thee oh sees - floating coffin
Vinyl

Thee Oh Sees: Floating Coffin (2013)

Around the same time I discovered Ty Segall I discovered John Dwyer. Like Segall most of his output centers on explorations of psych and garage filtered through different lenses, and like Segall he’s prolific, with multiple projects releasing per year. But unlike Segall, there’s an abrasive, punk sensibility that permeates his best music, particularly with Thee Oh Sees (sometimes OCS, for a while Oh Sees, for now simply Osees) which – surprise no surprise – is my favorite sonic output of his vision. What is a surprise is how little of his output I’ve covered on the site, so let’s rectify that by going back to the earliest album I currently own, 2013’s Floating Coffin, which showcases a level of dynamics missing from the band most recent records.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 29: Best of 2024: Stoner and Psych Rock/Metal

It begins. End of Year season is officially in motion, and over at Nine Circles I posted my first list, focusing on stoner and psych hard rock/metal. I still reach for the more extreme stuff, but more often than not when I’m in the mood for hard rock and I DON’T cave into my natural instincts with classic 70s rock and prog I go to the next best thing: those bands keeping that vibe alight in the modern era. Over the next few weeks the (Un)Focused Definition playlists are going to highlight songs from my many (too many, if we’re being honest) Best Of lists, but it starts here, on the Solstice…in the desert.

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