The Best of Indie Psychedelic Rock
Contents
Discover the best new psychedelic rock music from around the globe with The Best of Indie Psychedelic Rock.
The Origins of Indie Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock is a type of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s. It is characterized by its use of electronic effects and psychedelic imagery. The genre is sometimes called acid rock or garage rock. Indie psychedelic rock is a subgenre of psychedelic rock that developed in the early 2000s.
The late 80s and early 90s
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new wave of indie bands began to emerge who blended elements of psychedelia with other genres such as jangle pop, shoegaze, and lo-fi. These bands were often influenced by the DIY ethic of punk rock and incorporated experimental elements into their music.
Some of the most influential bands of this era include Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, and Pavement. These bands helped to create a new sound that was both experimental and accessible, and their influence can still be felt in today’s indie music scene.
The influence of shoegaze
Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie rock, alternative rock, and neo-psychedelia that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It was characterized by bands that used feedback and distortion to create a “wall of sound” effect.
The genre’s name came from the fact that many of the bands were known for their onstage performance style, which involved standing still with their guitars pointed at their feet (“shoegazing”), hence the nickname “shoegaze”.
Shoegaze was initially popularized by My Bloody Valentine with their album Loveless (1991). The genre was further developed by Slowdive and Ride, who were both influenced by My Bloody Valentine. Other notable shoegaze bands include Lush, Swervedriver, Spirea X, Boo Radleys, Chapterhouse, Medicine, Pale Saints, and Primal Scream. In the 2010s, there was a revival of interest in shoegaze-influenced music.
The term “shoegazing” was coined by the British music press in the early 1990s to describe a new wave of British alternative rock bands whowere influenced by neo-psychedelia and who tended to stand still onstage while they played their guitars
The Sound of Indie Psychedelic Rock
Let’s take a look at some of the best indie psychedelic rock bands out there. There’s a lot of great talent in this genre, and it’s only getting better. These bands have a unique sound that sets them apart from the mainstream.
The use of reverb and delay
Reverb is an extremely important part of the psychedelic sound. It creates a sense of space and a feeling of being engulfed by the music. Big, cavernous reverbs are often used on drums and guitars to create a “widescreen” sound. Delay is also used extensively in psychedelic rock, usually in the form of echo. This gives the music a sense of forward momentum and creates a hypnotic effect.
The use of unconventional time signatures
Psychedelic music often contains Conventional time signatures are often shunned in favor of more liberated percussion tracks that explore polyrhythms polymeter , and shifting time signatures. These techniques are designed to recreate (or induce) the feeling of a “bad trip”, or to give the listener a feeling of losing sight of their body and identity.
The Lyrics of Indie Psychedelic Rock
The best of indie psychedelic rock is often based on personal experiences and told through the lyrics. The lyrics are often introspective, and can provide a look into the artist’s personal thoughts and feelings. The best of indie psychedelic rock often has a message that is deep and meaningful, and can be interpreted in many ways.
The use of stream of consciousness
Indie psychedelic rock often uses the literary technique of stream of consciousness, in which a character’s thoughts and feelings are expressed in a continuous flow, without regard for sentence structure or traditional grammar. This technique is often used to convey the inner workings of a character’s mind, or to describe chaotic or dreamlike states of mind.
The use of surrealism and ambiguity
Indie psychedelic rock uses surrealism and ambiguity in its lyrics to create a sense of distance and dystopia. This is often done through the use of metaphors and similes. For example, the band Tame Impala uses the line “The city’s aflicker with so much energy” to describe the feeling of unease and alienation that comes with living in a big city. The lyrics of this genre often have a dream-like quality to them, as if the singer is not quite sure what is real and what is not.
The Legacy of Indie Psychedelic Rock
The influence on contemporary music
The legacy of indie psychedelic rock can be heard in the music of many contemporary artists. The genre has influenced everything from the sound of popular music to the fashion and attitude of young people.
Psychedelic rock was born out of the counterculture movement of the 1960s, when young people rebelled against the mainstream values of their parents generation. Psychedelic rock bands such as The Beatles, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane were at the forefront of this movement, experimenting with mind-altering drugs and creating a new sound that was based on improvisation and extended jams.
The influence of indie psychedelic rock can be heard in the work of contemporary artists such as Tame Impala, MGMT and Arcade Fire. These artists have taken the sound of the 60s and updated it for a new generation. They have also been influenced by other genres such as funk, disco and electronica.
The influence on popular culture
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, indie psychedelic rock bands influenced popular culture and the music industry in a number of ways. They introduced new sounds and styles that became mainstream, inspired other bands and artists to experiment with psychedelia, and helped to shape the development of various subgenres.
Psychedelic rock was one of the most prominent and influential genres of music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Indie psychedelic rock bands were at the forefront of this musical movement, helping to shape its development and influence its spread throughout popular culture. These bands introduced new sounds and styles that became mainstream, inspired other bands and artists to experiment with psychedelia, and helped to define the various subgenres that emerged from this musical movement.
Indie psychedelic rock bands were highly innovative, often experimenting with new sounds, instrumentation, song structures, and lyrical themes. This experimentation led to the development of many new subgenres of psychedelic rock, including acid rock, garage rock, folk rock, hard rock, and progressive rock. These subgenres would go on to have a major impact on popular music in the ensuing decades.
The popularity of indie psychedelic rock bands also helped to spread psychedelia into other areas of popular culture, such as fashion, art, television, film, and literature. Psychedelic imagery became commonplace in these fields as well, often taking on a trippy or mind-bending quality. The influence of indie psychedelic rock can still be seen in popular culture today, almost 50 years after the genre first emerged.
