Psychedelic Rock Bands to Watch in 2014

Here are some of the most promising psychedelic rock bands to keep an eye out for in 2014. With a revival of the genre underway, these bands are leading the charge.

The Revivalists

The Revivalists are a seven-piece band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.Formed in 2007, the group consists of Ed Williams (guitar), George Gekas (bass), Rob Ingraham (saxophone), Michael Girardot (keyboard), Andrew Campanelli (drums), Zack Feinberg (guitar) and David Shaw (lead vocals).

The Revivalists have released three albums: Vital Signs in 2010,City of Sound in 2013, and Men Amongst Mountains in 2015. The first two albums were independently released; the third album was released by Wind-up Records. The band has toured nationally and internationally with various artists including My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, Arcade Fire, Robert Plant and Zac Brown Band.

In 2016, the band won “Best Rock Song” at the 59th Grammy Awards for their track “Wish I Knew You”.

The Growlers

Hailing from Orange County, The Growlers have been making a name for themselves in the music industry since their formation in 2006. This psychedelic rock band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Brooks Nielsen, lead guitarist Matt Taylor, bassist Scott Montoya, and drummer Nick Murray. The Growlers have released five studio albums, with their most recent one being Chinese Fountain, which came out in 2014.

Allah-Las

Formed in 2008, Allah-Las hail from Los Angeles, and their self-titled debut album was released in 2012 to much acclaim. The band’s retro sound has been likened to that of The Byrds and Love, and their songs are often saturated with jangly 12-string guitars and Farfisa organs. Despite their obvious indebtedness to the past, there’s something fresh and exciting about Allah-Las’ music, and they’re definitely a band to watch in 2014.

Thee Oh Sees

Thee Oh Sees are a garage rock band from San Francisco, California, United States who have been described as “psych-garage meets acid-punk”. The name is a play on the Greek letter “Omega”. The lineup currently consists of John Dwyer (singer, guitarist), Lars Finberg (keyboardist) and Nick Murray (drummer).

Thee Oh Sees began as the solo project of singer-songwriter and visual artist John Dwyer. After relocating to San Francisco from Los Angeles in late 2006/early 2007, Dwyer enlisted the help of Brigid Dawson (keyboards/vocals), Petey Dammit (bass) and Patrick Mullins (drums), all veterans of San Francisco’s underground music scene. The first full-length album from the band was released in 2008 on Tomlab’s Gingerbrodt label, entitled Help. It received positive reviews from many publications, including Pitchfork Media and NME.