Oct 17th, 2008 · Canadian producer, singer and songwriter Koushik Ghosh is 100 percent do-it-yourself. Koushik's genre-bending sound stretches across psychedelia, pop, soul, and hip hop. He talks about his new album Out My Window, being a math nerd, and how he keeps his head clear.
Aug 26th, 2008 · On his debut solo release, Neighbor Singing, Brad Laner mixes lush harmonies with gentle melodies and a subtle but densely layered pastiche of electronics. Based in Granada Hills, Calif., Laner's music could be called electro-psychedelic-folk. But he likes to keep listeners guessing as each track morphs seamlessly into new forms, taking unexpected sonic directions that don't fit neatly into any standard category. Laner's is a blissful world rooted as much in '60s psychedelia as in 21st century pop.
Aug 11th, 2008 · The fast-paced, playful pop songs from the Arizona-based band What Laura Says are utterly infectious, full of quirky vocals and banged out piano chords. Lyrically, the record walks a line between comedic sarcasm and poignancy. But What Laura Says takes the pop formula one step further, injecting thick, full band instrumentation and a slew of retro sounds, from psychedelia to folk and bluegrass. The result is a very catchy record that keeps things light without losing any sort of musical integrity.
Jul 30th, 2008 · Trappers Cabin, the musical project of Georgia's Joel Nettesheim, makes interestingly odd and unclassifiable music. On Trappers Cabin's latest record, Trappers Mind, Nettesheim blends art-rock, freak-folk, psychedelia and space rock, and throws in plenty of surprises. From song to song, the sound twists and turns, and the result is an eclectic mix of music tied together by its collective goofiness.
Jul 28th, 2008 · Philadelphia's The Asteroid No. 4 takes dreamy shoegazer pop and mixes in elements of '60s psychedelia to create a folk-rock sound that falls somewhere between The Byrds and The Stone Roses. The group's fifth studio album, These Flowers of Ours, is dripping with reverb, echo, and tremolo effects. The album plays like a pastoral work of stargazing time-travel.
Jun 12th, 2008 · Folk revivalists like Devendra Banhart and the Elephant Six bands have headed up a rebirth of '60s psychedelia in millennial indie rock. D.C.-based band Nethers crafts its own brand of stripped-down psychedelia, taking acoustic freak-folk and distilling it down to a minimalist sound that pairs feedback and white noise with vibrant indie pop. It's no surprise, then, that the band brought on Los Angeles producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Dinosaur Jr., Silver Jews) to record its new album, What the Wind Will Never Say.
May 28th, 2008 · You won't hear any cymbal crashes, rumbling drum fills or guitar riffs on Fields of Industry's latest CD, Two Dogs, A Television. Though a number of tracks take cues from rock (the group often sounds like The Velvet Underground), it's an almost heartbreakingly spare album, steeped as much in folk and country as in shoegaze and psychedelia. Even on the more charged songs like "I'm Not Afraid of a Fight" and "Toybox," the only percussion heard is a gently rapped tambourine.
May 17th, 2007 · Writing "N.Y. Doll" from the perspective of a late New York Dolls bassist, Robyn Hitchcock opts not to copy the Dolls' pre-punk strut and roar. Instead, he sticks to what he knows, slowly stretching the guitar jangle until it ripples and pulses with the hum of psychedelia.