Tag: psychedelic rock

psychedelic porn crumpets - carpe diem moonman
Vinyl

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets: Carpe Diem, Moonman (2025)

Discovering Psychedelic Porn Crumpets was a happy accident, one of the good things that came out of my VNYL subscription years ago. I thought there was something fun about 2019’s And Now For The Whatchamacallit, the Australian band’s sophomore collection of psych, prog, and gnarly garage rock. There were similarities to what I was digging and discovering in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and this year with the May release of Carpe Diem, Moonman (not to mention the October’s Pogo Rodeo) the group have risen up with the kind of driving rock I’ve come to love, and miss from the ’70s southern boogie KG&LW have been putting out lately.

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the vintage caravan - portals
Vinyl

The Vintage Caravan: Portals (2025)

The Vintage Caravan would never have popped up on my radar were it not for Mikael Åkerfeldt’s appearance. And truth be told, his contribution is my favorite thing about Portals, the Icelandic trio’s sixth full-length of stoner progressive rock. I mean, you took one look at the band’s photo, saw that hat, and probably guessed the vibe from that, right? But if you guessed that, you probably also know that’s my weakness, my comfort food. Happily, even though the Åkerfeldt track is the highlight, the rest of the album ain’t too shabby, either.

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sees - abomination revealed at last
Vinyl

Osees: Abomination Revealed At Last (2025)

Another year, another batch of releases from John Dwyer under various names and organizations. But he’s most known for the garage/psych/kitchen rock juggernaut Osees, a killer band who changes styles almost as often as they do band names. But the latest name seems to have stuck, being in place for six years. The style, for better or worse, has also stayed largely the same: a mix of harsh bursts of punk that after a while all roll into each other, making Abomination Revealed At Last an album I gave one or two listens before shrugging it aside. Maybe it’s the times, but coming back to it I can still see my issues, but I also see many little things that bring the songs to life in a way I ignored, to my detriment.

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naxatras - v
Vinyl

Naxatras: V (2025)

Time has since clouded just how I discovered Naxatras, the Greek psychedelic rock outfit. I think it was via Bandcamp, possibly by following the breadcrumb trail of “You Might Also Like…” albums at the bottom of the page of…some album. I remember I featured the band’s fourth full length, simply titled IV, in my Best of 2022 Stoner and Psych list over at Nine Circles, and now here we are with the equally descriptive album title V. Good news is it’s even better than its predecessor, heavier and doubling down on the exotic flavor of its melodies. This has been another great headphones album, but it’s equally effective played at loud volumes on a good stereo.

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orange peel - orange peel
Vinyl

Orange Peel: Orange Peel (1972)

Gotta love the dusty corner where you come across those “one and done” bands. Especially in Germany, where the krautrock reaction to the rise of the American and UK rock scenes spawned any number of bands reaching to find a musical expression that embraced the rise of that country’s youth. Orange Peel may have taken a safer path with their self-titled album – this is very much indebted to the aforementioned scenes – but when it’s done this well, who really cares? I guess the listeners did, which is why despite opening for Deep Purple and getting packaged with other great (but tiny) German psych/rock acts, Orange Peel the album became another casualty of the “one and done” phenomenon. Too bad, because I really like the vibes on this one.

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mahogany rush - child of the novelty
CD, Vinyl

Mahogany Rush: Child Of The Novelty (1974)

Out of the thousands (probably millions) of guitarists influenced by Jimi Hendrix, it’s a rare player that actually embodies Hendrix’s particular slippery vibe. Stevie Ray Vaughn was definitely one of them, and for my money Uli Jon Roth hits the same psychedelic fire highs. Frank Marino is another, and his early work with Mahogany Rush shows off just how indebted this muscular trio out of Canada was to that classic sound. I was unfamiliar with Marino and the band, but Child Of The Novelty hooked me at my local used shop with that killer cover art, so I took a chance on it. Slinky and funky, this is a killer early hard rock album that’s going to sit comfortably in my collection when I want to groove out to something like but not quite Hendrix.

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