The Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of 2015

A list of the best psychedelic rock albums of 2015.

Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of 2015

Psychedelic rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the 1960s. The style is defined by its use of distorted guitars, feedback, and mind-altering substances. Psychedelic rock peaked in popularity in the late 1960s, but the genre has remained popular among music fans. In this article, we’ll take a look at the best psychedelic rock albums of 2015.

Tame Impala- Currents

Tame Impala’s ‘Currents’ is our favorite psychedelic rock album of 2015. This is an album that takes the classic sound of psychedelic rock and brings it into the modern age. The album is full of catchy hooks and interesting production choices that make it an enjoyable listen from beginning to end. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock, or just looking for something new to check out, we highly recommend giving ‘Currents’ a listen.

The Flaming Lips- The Terror

Wayne Coyne and co. have always had an ear for a good hook, and The Terror is no different in that respect. The album’s first single, ‘Sun Blows Up Today’, is perhaps the poppiest track the Lips have ever written, but doesn’t feel out of place amongst the LP’s more sprawling jams. The record is at its best, though, when the band are firing on all cylinders, as on the eight-minute opener ‘Look…The Sun Is Rising’.

The Black Angels- Phosphene Dream

The Austin, Texas-based quintet the Black Angels have made a career out of playing droning, effects-laden garage rock that nods to the Velvet Underground as much as it does to contemporary bands like the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The band’s third full-length album, Phosphene Dream, is more of the same — which is to say, it’s another tight collection of hooky retro-psychedelic rockers. The Black Angels have always had a dark streak, and it’s on display here in both the music (the lurching opener “Bad Vibrations”) and in singer Alex Maas’ morose lyrics. Elsewhere, on the jangling “Telephone,” he offers up a cynical take on social media (“She posts photographs/She’s someone else”). But for all its sonic gloom, Phosphene Dream is also one of the band’s most tuneful and immediately accessible releases, thanks to its well-crafted melodies and dynamics.

The Growlers- Chinese Fountain

The Growlers- Chinese Fountain
Released: September 23, 2014
Label: Self-released

The Growlers’ fifth LP is a party record for Hung at Heart fans who like their fun on the dark side. It’s the sound of a band hitting its stride, with Brooks Nielsen’s front-and-center croon sounding better than ever as he tells tales of disaffected youth over an eclectic range of psych-infused rock & roll. From the ’60s garage stomp of “Big Toe” to the Doors-y organ swirl of “Good Advice,” Chinese Fountain is The Growlers in peak form.

Allah-Las- Worship the Sun

This band’s self-titled debut is (((unclassifiable))) – and that’s the best thing about it. It Careens from reverb-drenched freakouts (“Catamaran”) to jangly garage-pop (“Tell Me (What’s on Your Mind)”) to psychedelic country-rock (the eight-minute “Sandy.”) The Allah-Las have a way of making the familiar feel fresh, something that bodes well for their future as a band.