April was another great month for psychedelic music. We offer below a roundup of 10 of the best psych rock releases from last month, in our humble opinions. The music ranges from psychedelic doom to heavy psych to a little funky jam band. And it comes to us from all over the world – from Seattle to Italy to Sweden. Check out the list below for the very best of psychedelic rock music in April 2023, and leave us a comment if you like!

Best Psych Rock of April 2023

Hologram by Amplifier

Release Date: April 7, 2023
Label: Rockosmos
Subgenre: Space Rock/Heavy Psych
Bandcamp Link

Amplifier is an English psychedelic rock act from Manchester that’s been around since 1999. Many say they’re one of the U.K. rock scene’s most underrated bands, though it appears they have somewhat of a cult following in Europe.

They’ve released a good bit of music since their self-titled debut in 2004, and Hologram is the band’s first new music since 2017. The two founding members of Amplifier, Sel Balamir and Matt Brobin, are working on a project called Gargantuan, and the six songs on Hologram were part of it.

Hologram is a wild ride and a good dose of heavy psychedelia with space-rock themes. There are touches of alt-rock melodies and stylings, but enough effects, pedal distortion, and trippy twists and turns to make the album properly psychedelic. 

I would describe this record as listening to the most psychedelic of the heavy jams of Soundgarden and Tool. I say this because there are plenty of extended heavy sections and tripped-out atmospheric compositions.

Honey Business by Psychic Love Child

Release Date: April 14, 2023
Label: Psychic Love Records
Subgenre: Neo-Psychedelia
Bandcamp Link

Psychic Love Child is a five-piece indie psych rock band based in Dallas, Texas. Honey Business is their debut full-length LP, and it’s a damn good one. These guys are more of the neo-psych/indie variety, making tunes that harken back to the early Sixties sunshine pop variety.

Honey Business contains tracks with tons of distorted vocals and jangly guitar tones. Most of the songs are quite short, around the three-minute mark, which adds to the pop-like feel of the record.

The band originally formed in 2014, fell apart in 2016 but then re-emerged sometime around 2020. They say that everything about their creative process is “rooted in nods to the best of Sixties psych music.” Fans of early psychedelic and modern neo-psych acts like Acid Dad should like this one.

Protoaeolianism by :nepaal

Release Date: April 9, 2023
Label: Psychedelic Source Records
Subgenre: Acid Rock
Bandcamp Link

Does Hungary-based Psychedelic Source Records ever put out a bad release? I’m struggling to think of one from their ever-growing catalog that I don’t like. This recent record by :nepaal is another excellent addition of three long tracks of heavy psychedelic jams to feed your mind, body, and soul.

As always, Psychedelic Source Records and the band (:nepaal) behind this record are rather mysterious, so you’ll have to fill in the blanks about what they’re all about. Just know this: these are good tunes. I’m guessing the three tracks contained in this record were recorded as improvised jams because they have that kind of free-flowing quality. 

And as usual, the Bandcamp listing contains a cryptic message from the band saying, “We are living in infinity. Time doesn’t exist. Reality is a collectively agreed untruth. We can do all; we are the power. We are one. We are just parts of the same circle. Slices of the unity. We are one. All is one.”

Hazeshuttle (Self-Titled)

Release Date: April 1, 2023
Label: Independent 
Subgenre: Heavy Psych
Bandcamp Link

Time for more heaviness. Hazeshuttle is an instrumental heavy psych and stoner rock band formed in 2018 in Germany. This self-titled debut LP from the band is excellent, containing all the heavy fuzz-driven guitar you could ever ask for.

Along with the stoner rock sounds, there are plenty of spaced-out psychedelic guitar harmonics and powerful bass sections combined with classic-rock-oriented drum grooves. There are only five tracks on the album, but the run time stretches out to an epic 48 minutes and 44 seconds. This is killer instrumental heavy psych of the highest quality that you’ll want to check out.

Badlands Ride by Space Paranoids

Release Date: April 18, 2023
Label: Karma Conspiracy Records
Subgenre: Stoner/Heavy Psych
Bandcamp Link

Space Paranoids formed in 2006 under the Alps of northwest Italy, playing a brand of rock they call “Mountain Stoner.” They craft songs with psychedelic atmospheres that are inspired by the Alpine valleys and landscapes of their home country. I also think Space Paranoids is a great band name.

Badlands Rise is their fourth full-length LP, containing 11 tracks of a unique type of heavy psychedelic and stoner rock. Sure, there’s plenty of fuzz, but there’s also punkish energy and vocals and song structures that slightly reminded me of emo (and I don’t say that as a knock on them).

Space Paranoids have been a long-running act in the Italian Stoner Rock scene that has played alongside some great bands, including Black Rainbows and Stoned Jesus. Badlands Ride is another great addition to their discography.

Read more about the Best Italian Psych Rock Bands here.

Mars by Center of The Earth

Release Date: April 7, 2023
Label: Independent
Subgenre: Psychedelic Doom
Bandcamp Link

Center of the Earth is a Danish Stoner Doom/Psychedelic act that was founded in Tikøb in 2013. Their latest album, Mars, is an epic collection of three lengthy doom jams good for fans of Clouds Taste Satanic.

The opening track, Red Fang, is nearly 18 minutes long, containing growling vocals and everything you’d come to expect from heavy psych. You can buy this one at a Name Your Own Price on Bandcamp, as the band releases all of its music for free – you can’t beat that.

Drifting in the Endless Void by Dozer

Release Date: April 21, 2023
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Subgenre: Stoner/Heavy Psych
Bandcamp Link

Dozer has been making great heavy psych/stoner rock tunes for a long time (since 1995), and Drifting in the Endless Void is their triumphant return. This new record is Dozer’s first full-length album since 2008’s Beyond Colossal, and it was well worth the wait. Blues Funeral says on Bandcamp that the album is a “fiery, amp-splitting rumble of a record” packed with “space-tripping grooves, massive sludge, and red-eyed psychedelics.” I agree with that assessment!

Here’s what Tom said in our review of the album: “A band should be bigger than the sum of its parts, and Dozer pulls that idea off convincingly. Each member’s contributions are beyond reproach, lifting the music higher by focusing on the singular goal of creating something bigger than they are. They accomplished exactly that on Drifting in the Endless Void.”

Click here to see the full Third Eye review.

Psychic Paywalls (Self-Titled)

Release Date: April 4, 2023
Label: Independent
Subgenre: Garage Rock
Bandcamp Link

New Zealand-based Psychic Paywalls formed in 2020, beginning as a casual two-piece jam band before adding a bassist and playing live shows. Their Facebook page describes them as a “three-piece psychedelic blues unit funded by a consortium of deep state actors.” As Tom says in our review of this self-titled EP, the band’s sound has plenty of psych elements but also a nice bit of surf rock and indie garage band vibe.

This is Psychic Paywall’s debut EP, and they’ve laid the foundation for something very good. Overall, it’s nice melodic garage rock with smooth vocals and tons of groove to it. I was also interested to see on Bandcamp that the album’s cover art and perhaps even the mastering of the record was done by artificial intelligence.

Click here to see the full Third Eye review.

Acid Disorder by Giobia

Release Date: April 28, 2023
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds Records
Subgenre: Heavy Psych
Bandcamp Link

Acid Disorder is the latest offering from Italian heavy psych rock wizards Giöbia, released on the always reliable Heavy Psych Sounds label. This is the band’s sixth album, strengthening their reputation as one of Europe’s “most bedazzling purveyors of psychedelia.” As Tom writes in our review of the record, the band utilizes elements of neo-psych, acid rock, space rock, and even a little krautrock to create one of the best psych rock albums of the first quarter of 2023.

The album didn’t drop until April 28th, but the band released three singles from it ahead of time, and they’re all pretty awesome. “The Sweetest Nightmare” is my favorite from the bunch, packed with energy, distortion, and wild soundscapes. Tom also wrote in his review, “This record is a beautiful demonstration of what psychedelic music can be, creating an atmosphere that soars to lofty peaks and dives into the deepest valleys that this type of music can offer listeners.”

Make sure you check this one out.

Check out the full Third Eye review here.

Routine for Now by The Whags

Release Date: April 7, 2023
Label: Independent
Subgenre: Psychedelic Funk
Bandcamp Link

We’ve included a lot of heavy psych/stoner on this list, so this album from Seattle-based The Whags is something entirely different. The Whags make groovy, psychedelic funk jams that will remind you of The Grateful Dead.

Routine for Now is their debut full-length album, but the band has already developed quite the following, playing shows and festivals mostly on the West Coast. They can be described as an “Americana Jam Band,” taking an open-ended approach to roots music, funk, and sunshine pop.

The Whags are a fun band that will get you ready for the summer festival season and perfect for anyone with even a slight interest in The Dead.

Click here for the full Third Eye review.

That’s a wrap! Let us know if there are any albums that deserve mention on here that we left out – we’re always open to suggestions. And head over to Bandcamp to support some of these artists and these awesome albums!