Animal Collective - Campfire Songs (2003)

Animal Collective get a ton of credit for "breaking the rules" of indie-hipster-approved pop/rock but they really are one of many bands who do this. They're just one of the more popular ones. On some of their more recent albums they've done a great job of making dense psychedelic folk accessible and even catchy, but not all of their stuff is gold. This really undynamic as spacey psych folk goes. It's vaguely pretty and moderately interesting but you don't have to look far for other examples of this kind of music. I prefer Plankton Wat's In Magical Light, the final track of which sums up what Campfire Songs aims to be, but better.

6.3 / 10

Psychic Ills - Hazed Dream (2011)

Hazed Dream is the sixth album from this psychedelic rock quartet. They draw heavily from krautrock and have a Southern rock, bluesy style to their guitar playing, especiallt the solos. The vocals have this woozy sort of echo to them such that the singer sounds very, very bored, but in a way that fits well with the very laid-back feel of the melodies. This reminds me a bit of bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Brain Jonestown Massacre just in the general tone of the album. Some of the tracks reminded me of post-punk acts like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, but that’s just because of the hollow sound of the vocals. This isn’t psychedelic in the sense that the soundscapes are colorful and complex; this is an indie rock band that dresses their melodies and vocals with a layer of psychedelic haze. Synthesizers aid this effect, but the hooks and melodies are pretty apparent and generally pretty enjoyable. I love the moodiness of this album. It's slow-moving, dense and atmospheric.

8.4 / 10

The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient (2011)

The War on Drugs, who I last heard on their 2008 album Wagonwheel Blues, initially struck me as a folk-rock group but I obviously didn’t listen closely enough. There are a lot of psychedelic vibes going on, from the shoegazey guitars, the vocal drawl (which sometimes sounds a lot like Bob Dylan) and the general haziness to the every element of the instrumentation. In general, I hear a lot of shoegaze mixed with sugary-sweet pop music or harsh black metal, if it is mixed with anything at all. So Slave Ambient is a rather unique blend of styles. Indie folk doesn’t generally get this psychedelic, and music this psychedelic often sacrifices melody. The band still have that rustic folky vibe but they take it in an ambitious direction and the results are a joy to listen to.

8.2 / 10