Psychedelia is an influence that keeps on giving, in multiple ways. It would appear you can combine those recognizable late sixties bits of distortion and sparkle to just about any tune and hyphen your way into the psych genre. Today’s acts offer three different ways to psych out while still doing your own thing.

Chicago’s Sharp Pins return with a revamped versions of their 2024 LP Radio DDR, now supersized from 11 to 14 songs, making a great album even greater. The original record is testament to the rich variety of the modern jangle movement. Album opener “Every Time I Hear” is a jangle stunner, combining delicate sparkly guitar with a dreamy vocal drone. In the same vein, “If I Was Ever Lonely” lays a bit psych pop vibe over a melody that is a killer collection of hooks. Hit single material for sure. “Circle All the Dots” roughs up the jangle a bit but is another unstoppable melody-drenched tune. Stylistically “Lorelei” goes in another direction with a second act that both surprising and striking in terms of song structure. The record also has a number of tunes that have a lovely Kevin Devine acoustic delicacy like “You Don’t Live Here Anymore,” “Sychophant,” and “Chasing Stars.” Alternatively, the amps get cranked a bit on “When You Know” and “Is It Better” which feature smooth pop vocals floating over punk distortion guitars. “You Have a Way” just sounds like a great lost 1960s guitar pop hit. From the newly added material “Storma Lee” is a very Brydsian encounter, with shimmering jangle guitars and otherworldly vocals.

The Higher State are some kind of retro music time machine, relentlessly plucking sounds you know from 1957, 1963, 1968, and so on. Their latest album Internecine Free is a loving tribute to the sonic styles of days gone by, but repurposed for now. Just check out the killer organ work driving opening cut “By The View.” Or the surf-meets-garage rock intensity of “Not Anything.” “Pussywillow” even turns down a Byrds/Dylanesque jangle street. Overall though the vibe here combines a garage rock looseness with razor-sharp organ and guitar interventions. “10 Minutes Ahead” and “In Slow Motion” are great examples. “Shadows Cast” ups the pop quotient with a more of sixties beat group feel. “A Lonely Place” is something else again, more a circa 1968 heavy pop single. So many possible comparisons abound. “I’d Rather Die” could easily slip on to a Young Rascals album while “Meet Me at the Bellanova” has a more contemporary Smithereens aura. Personal fave – I love uber cool guitar lead line snaking throughout “Inside Information Man.” This is a party album, for sure. Just turn on the lava lamp and hit play.

If we’re being honest, Montreal’s Prism Shores are more jangly melodic pop than psych, though their new album Out From Underneath definitely has its psyched-out moments. You can hear it on “Tourniquet,” “Weightless” and “Unravel,” though overlaid with a dissonant but still poppy vocal. By contrast, album opener “Overplayed My Hand” is more power pop. But on the whole the sound here is more melancholy melodic rock and roll in the style of Rogue Wave or The Shins. Tracks like “Holding Pattern,” Fault Line” and “Southpaw” counterpose jaunty musical beds with a more dour yet endearing vocal attack. “Sudden Sting” oscillates between a rush-like drive in the chorus and a kind of calm in between. Meanwhile “Drawing Conclusions” even offers up a Smiths-like lush guitar bed while the vocal adds a dynamic tension to what is going on. If you’re looking for melodic rock with a dissonant twist, Prism Shores are your new go-to band.

Psych was so 1968 but now it’s whenever and wherever you want it to be. You can just add a little psych to whatever you’re doing. Or you can dig a little deeper into the psyche of these acts via the hyperlinks above.

Photo courtesy Aaron Brown Flikr collection.