Happy holidays from The Third Eye! I was going to start this post by talking about the sad state of the world, but I don’t want to be a downer. Regardless of how bad things are getting, we have a ton of great music for which we can be thankful.
This past year was another great one for independent and underground psychedelic music, and I had a lot of fun writing about some excellent releases over the past twelve months.
Whenever you assemble a year-end list like this, some bands will inevitably be left out. I started the list with over 50 releases and narrowed it to 32 records. I should probably narrow it down more, but I couldn’t. There was simply too much good stuff.
Of course, the following is entirely subjective. That’s why I entitled the post the way I did. Music is not sports or a contest, no matter how many arbitrary 7.6 ratings Pitchfork gives in its reviews.
You’ll also notice that several albums on this list come from a few labels that are my favorites, such as Island House, Centripetal Force, Perpetual Doom, and Echodelick. I’m biased toward these labels, but only because they continuously release music that I love.
Anyway, let’s all agree that 2024 was an excellent year for music. It seems like it’s getting harder and harder to be an independent creative these days, dealing with algorithms, AI slop, soul-sucking companies like Spotify, etc.
So, let’s all do our best to support independent bands like those on the list below. I would venture to say that many aren’t earning much from their efforts and are in it because they have that overwhelming need to create art that makes life so wonderful (and, often, bearable).
Every Bandcamp and merch purchase matters, simply as a way of saying you appreciate what they do. That’s the essence of the DIY culture.
Here’s The Third Eye’s favorite psych from 2024:
- Crying in 9 by Vague Plot
- Small Medium Large by SML
- Deep Time by Prariewolf
- Hall of Mirrors by Acid Rooster
- Hawk Is Listenin’ by AJ Woods
- Zonk (self-titled)
- Spirits Align by The Man From Atlantis
- Mount Elephant by Upupayāma
- From The Source by Causa Sui
- The Red Valley by Elkhorn
- The Place Is The Space by GROOP
- Harvest by BALTHVS
- Mind Screen by Emergency Group
- East Coast Cosmic Dreamscaper Seawind of Battery
- News of The Universe by La Luz
- Roseway by Jeffrey Silverstein
- Infinite Peaks by The Cosmic Dead
- Burning Is Learning by SOMA
- Perpetual Stew by Junegrass
- Inner Shadow by Sam Jr.
- Astral Suitcase by Bill Baird
- All Paths Diverge by Delving
- Cygnus A by Drew Gardner
- The Golden Hour by Empty House
- Planet Lidders by Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders
- Prince of Shadows by Jack Silverman Quartet
- 未来 by Zamboa
- Mighty Vertebrate by Anna Butterss
- To The Mesosphere And Beyond by Misha Panfilov Septet
- The Unheimlich Kingdom by Psychic Lemon
- The Circular Ruins by Old Unconscious
- Echoes by CAZAYOUX
Enjoy the tunes, and have a happy New Year!
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