Psychedelic folk music is not dead. Plenty of bands are keeping the genre alive and doing a fine job of it, too. If you’re just now getting into psych-folk, or you’re a diehard fan in need of new music to enjoy, you might just love the following four psychedelic folk bands from the present day and days past. Let’s take a look!
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1. The Incredible String Band
An older entry on our list of iconic psychedelic folk bands, The Incredible String Band took the concept of “psychedelic folk” literally. Their music can only be described as what you’d hear from a group of 1970s time travelers stuck in the Elizabethan era, still high off of the hits of LSD they took before departing.
Their third album, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter, is essential listening for fans of the genre. It’s a golden late-1960s piece of work that has aged quite well.
2. Grouper
Grouper is on the fresher and younger side of psychedelic folk bands. The solo project of producer Liz Harris, Grouper first formed in 2005 and is still going strong today. However, her best piece of work has to be the 2013 record The Man Who Died In His Boat.
This album was inspired by a large abandoned vessel that hit the shore of Agate Beach in Oregon years ago, and there are tons of different elements on this record that go beyond psych-folk. If you love neo-gothic music and ambient tunes, this is the record to check out.
3. Comus
You’ve probably seen the unsettling cover art of Comus’ First Utterance in record stores through the years. If that’s scared you off, I implore you to give this 1971 psych-folk album (and the rest of Comus’ work) a chance.
This prog-folk outfit was massively underrated when they first got together in the 1970s, but I’m not surprised that they’ve since gained a cult following for their dark, unsettling, and beautifully composed work in the genre.
4. Espers
Another newer example of top-notch psychedelic folk bands, Espers was the one band to blend psych-folk and drone music perfectly. Specifically, they mastered that meeting of genres on their 2006 record Espers II.
Psych-folk and drone music are rarely considered playful or fun, but Espers managed to make the two genres’ union something of a delightful spectacle. The arrangements on that record are gorgeous and not unlike some progressive works from Genesis or Kraftwerk. It’s really a bummer that this outfit isn’t still together today.
Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns
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