Five new bands keeping the spirit of psychedelic rock alive
While the idea of psychedelic rock immediately brings the Summer of Love and images of thousands of stoned hippies zonked out in a field to mind, the late 1960s origins of the genre are not exactly reflective of the places it has travelled since.
Psychedelia in all its forms still evokes the same feel as it did in its nascent years, but sonically speaking, there have been all sorts of developments that have seen artists operating in the sphere embrace a variety of other styles and incorporate influences from a multitude of other fields. On top of this, while the music continues to operate with the intention of being mind-expanding, the use of illicit substances in the creative process no longer feels as though it’s a mandatory requirement for earning such a classification.
While The Beatles and The Byrds are perhaps two of the most mainstream and accessible proponents of the original psychedelic boom, representing the movement from both sides of the Atlantic, there were countless other examples hell-bent on pushing music in this countercultural direction. With the likes of the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors also generating plenty of interest through their own unique takes on the genre, there were plenty of foundations for future generations to run with.
Of course, many genres come in waves of prominence, and while psychedelic rock has had moments where it has waned in popularity, it appears to have gone through something of a renaissance in the last couple of decades, with acts like Osees, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Unknown Mortal Orchestra all seemingly embracing different elements of psychedelia with a somewhat modern twist on the format.
That being said, these aforementioned acts have all been around the block a few times, with a couple of them having vast discographies ripe for exploration, but in the last few years, a number of newer forces have emerged and put themselves forward as some of the most exciting torch-bearers for the future of psychedelic rock. With that in mind, here are five of the most exciting new acts keeping the spirit of psychedelic rock in all its forms well and truly alive.
Five new bands keeping psychedelic rock alive:
Plantoid
Arguably crossing over into prog rock territory just as much as they’re venturing into the unknown with psychedelic explorations, Brighton foursome Plantoid embody exactly what it means to make mind-bending music, allowing their compositions to evolve freely and approaching their craft with a sense of wild abandon.
Surrealist imagery and complex structures come in vast quantities with Plantoid, but while their two albums, Terrapath and Flare, might feel like a daunting place to start for someone looking to delve into the genre for the first time, any seasoned aficionados of psych-rock will be able to latch onto these chaotic creations and understand exactly where they’re coming from. Psychedelic rock has always possessed a propensity for pushing things to the extreme, and Plantoid certainly don’t do things by half measures.
Big Long Sun
Another Brightonian project, taking the form of an eight-piece collective built around the far-reaching ideas of frontman Jamie Broughton, Big Long Sun are another act determined to prove that the South coast city is the UK’s premier hotspot for psychedelic adventurousness. Not only this, but the rapid rate at which the band seem to be producing new material has the same air as some of the tirelessly inventive acts that have dominated the genre in recent years.
Their third album, Love Songs and Spiritual Recollections, adopts a far more folk-adjacent angle compared to their first two releases, but if psychedelic rock has ever been about one thing, it’s a desire to explore a multitude of different ideas without truly settling in one space. With future, and presumably soon to arrive additions to their catalogue, they’re likely to keep transcending the world they’ve built for themselves so far, making them perhaps one of the most exciting acts within the genre at this moment in time.
Mandrake Handshake
If the eight members of Big Long Sun seemed like a gargantuan and daunting prospect to approach, then the ten-strong ensemble that makes up Oxford’s Mandrake Handshake might seem even more frightening. However, if there’s one thing that can be instantly observed about the band, it’s that their feel-good spin on the genre is anything but intimidating and dishes out much more of an invitation for listeners to let loose and get swallowed up by the iridescent nature of their music.
With their music being centred around extended jams and grooves that both feel as though they’re locking in and existing with complete freedom at the same time, Mandrake Handshake deliver on both ends of the psychedelic spectrum, with half of their music existing in a trance-like state while the other portion encourages their audience to shed their inhibitions and join the party they so effortlessly create. Quite frankly, it’s impossible to turn away from their live performances feeling anything but pure elation.
Bug Teeth
Leeds’ Bug Teeth might have the shortest discography of any of the acts on this list, but their relative inexperience when it comes to having recorded offerings compared to the others that make up this assortment shouldn’t be interpreted as naivety or a sign that they’re still figuring things out for themselves. In fact, the project, born from the mind of frontperson PJ Johnson, is perhaps the most wide-reaching of the bunch, with influences seemingly stemming from a multitude of curious corners.
However, at its heart, the music still possesses a dreamlike quality, whether Johnson chooses to present it in bursts of reverb-washed guitar, through floating synth soundscapes, or via glitched-out electronic passages. On debut album Micrographia, released in 2025, the now five-piece act delivers something that is grand in its ambition, subtle in its application of detail, and truly fascinating to immerse oneself in as the various textures morph into some of the most inventive music the genre has produced in recent memory.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek
Given that a large amount of the influence on the first wave of popular psychedelic rock bands came from non-Western cultures, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the finest examples of the genre in the modern world hail from non-English-speaking countries. In the case of German-born, Turkish-speaking Derya Yıldırım and her band, Grup Şimşek, their expansive outings traverse the sublime through a deep collective knowledge and mutual love of Anatolian folk music.
Yıldırım’s combination of traditional Turkish instrumentation, such as the bağlama and the oud, both of which belong to the lute family, along with other instruments more commonly heard in Western composition, like the piano and saxophone, she manages to generate something of a cultural fusion that sets her apart from many of her contemporaries. Rather than simply borrowing inspiration from her heritage, she seems to live and breathe it, and with the increased attention coming her way for her most recent album, Yarın Yoksa, it will hopefully encourage more listeners to dig deeper into the treasures of Anatolian psychedelia.
