The Third Eye

May has come and gone, and all everyone can seem to talk about – or hear – where I live in America is the cicadas. About a trillion cicadas from different broods have emerged in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the U.S., which started at the end of April and is a rare occurrence.

Much excellent psychedelic music also emerged on Bandcamp in May. Although the bands and albums didn’t have names like the Great Southern Brood or the Northern Illinois Brood, they were awesome nonetheless. (Although a band called Great Southern Brood sounds pretty amazing, right?)

The Japanese psych-rock collective Acid Mothers Temple shared a partial discography called AMT24 that tracks the band’s history of freaky sounds. Perennial favorite label Echodelick Records also had several great releases in May, including records by Sam Jr., Black Snake Moan, and Black Flamingo.

Other terrific psych releases include the brutal heavy psych sounds from UFOMAMMUT’s new record, a new release from the always-awesome Psychedelic Source Records, and excellent new music from the Swedish psych-rockers MaidaVale. 

Some older music also made it onto the list, including the latest CAN live album from an ongoing series. There was also a fascinating, obscure, and unreleased 1970 album from a South Texas psych band called Cold Sun, who would become members of Roky Erickson’s backing band.

Overall, another tremendous month of psychedelic music. But doesn’t every month bring us great new music? What a time to be alive.

Here’s The Third Eye’s list of favorite psychedelic albums from May 2024:

• The Moon Is In The Wrong Place by Shannon & The Clams
• AMT24 by Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
• Lost in Time by Black Snake Moan
• AN​​​-​​​N​​​Û​​​R by Black Flamingo
• Inner Shadow by Sam Jr.
• The Long Strange Winding Road To Everywhere by Pink Elderflower Moon
• ODYSS​É​E by KALAC
• Dark Shadows by Cold Sun
• Zaza by Spill Gold
• Paradise by SUPER-X
• LIVE IN ASTON 1977 by CAN
• Sun Dog by MaidaVale
• Hidden by UFOMAMMUT
• Vessel by Vitskär Süden
• Los Tayos
• News of The Universe by La Luz
• Coincidence by Laraaji + Agnes Martian + Music For Connection + Hair And Space Museum

Be sure to support all the artists, bands, and labels bringing this terrific music to our ears by buying their stuff on Bandcamp.

Also, here’s a sampler Spotify playlist of some of the music on this list below:

I hope you had a great May, and I hope you enjoy some of these tunes!

Consider supporting The Third Eye on Patreon here.

Parting words: “May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope.” — Emily Brontë