Here we are at the top 20 albums I reviewed over the last five years. Read on to see who made the list!
#20: BODEGA – Broken Equipment(2022)
Sharp, witty post-punk that the world needed then and still needs now. Songs like “Doers” both poke fun at and slap around over-achievers and the work grind, while “All Past Lovers” is a heartfelt love song.
#19: Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg(2021)
Speaking of good post-punk, Dry Cleaning’s first full-length album was a great dose of it. Weird guitar, heavy bass, funky drumming, and odd spoken lyrics? I’m all in.
#18: TV Priest – Uppers(2021)
More damn good heavy post-punk here from these Londoners. The whole album is sweaty, gritty, and growling.
#17: Bonnie Trash – Mourning You(2025)
Holy cow. This record is heavy in both tone and emotion. It’s an album about grief and how it can crush you if you’re not careful. There is beauty here. It’s not just gloom. It’s a stunner that captures all of the emotions you feel after a heavy loss.
#16: Meatbodies – Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom(2024)
These guys were my favorite discovery of 2024. It’s groovy, heavy, and trippy psych-rock that we need more of in this day and age.
Come back tomorrow to see who’s in the top fifteen!
The final day of the 2026 Austin Psych Fest was the most humid of the three, and easily the most soulful. The festival bumped up all the sets by an hour, presumably to avoid the thunderstorms predicted to roll in around 10pm that night just as the final set was about to end.
As a result, I wasn’t able to get in a disco nap before the festival and trotted my slightly sunburned body to the Far Out Lounge just in time to catch Night Beats play a solid set of psychedelic, fuzzy soul rock. It had been a few years since I’d seen them, and they haven’t lost a step. They still deliver the goods.
Night Beats rocking day beats.
Up next were the funky Dumbo Gets Mad, who had everyone happily dancing in the hot sun without a care. Finding shade is a skill at this festival. You have to claim spots early or rely on the charity of others to squeeze you into a shady space. The occasional breeze elicited happy sighs from the crowds, and it kept hitting at good times during DGM’s set to make dancing all the easier.
No anger here, just fun vibes.
A big crowd had assembled for La Lom, who hit the first note exactly at the start of their set time. The Los Angeles trio played a fun set of instrumental cumbia, rockabilly, and border rock. Everyone was smiling during this set. Couples were dancing and making out. People were cheering their ancestry as La Lom announced the origin of several tracks (“We’re going to play a song from Columbia!”, “This is an old one from Mexico!”).
La Lom shaking hips everywhere.
Trish Toledo was the next artist on the bill, bringing her Latina soul siren vocals to the second stage with her killer backing band. She started with her version of Diana Ross’ “Bad Girls” and proceeded to win and break hearts from there. Everyone was spellbound by the end.
Trish Toledo wrapping everyone around her fingers.
The night, and the festival, ended with the big sounds of Thee Sacred Souls. Much like La Lom and Ms. Toledo’s sets, everyone was buzzing and happy during it. The heat and sun didn’t matter (“It’s like being in a club at 3am,” said lead singer Josh Lane). People all around me were dancing, cheering, smooching, and loving the opportunity to go out with dance grooves to carry them home.
The thunderstorms hit almost an hour later, preventing me from getting to the late night show downtown. That was a bummer, but overall it was a good time and, as always, an excellent blend of genres and bands from all over the map.
And now, my random Festival Awards!
Best set: The Flaming Lips. The sound engineering was top-notch and it was a fun set list. On a personal note, they were one of my late wife’s favorite bands and they played the night before our 29th wedding anniversary, so that was special. I got choked up during “The Golden Path.”
Heaviest set: The Black Angels. Good heavens, the modern versions of the songs from Passover somehow have even more fuzz and weight on them.
Shame on You if You Missed It set: Almost Heaven. They were the second set on the first day and put on a sharp, post-punky / electro-funky set that had a lot of people buzzing by the end of it and wearing their new band shirts over the next two days.
Wildest set: J’cuuzi. Absolutely bonkers and a ton of fun. Crazy costumes, exotic dancers, glam-punk riffs, a spinning chair substituting for a stripper’s pole, and more stuff I’ve forgotten were all crammed into it. They opened the festival and set a high bar for everyone to follow.
Loveliest set: Trish Toledo. This was like a cool breeze refreshing you after a long day. The soul ballads and psychedelic funk sounds were a great addition to the festival. This was another set you’ll kick yourself for missing if you weren’t there.
Sweatiest set: Night Beats. Lead singer and guitarist DannyLee Blackwell’s shirt was soaked enough for him to win a wet t-shirt contest by the end of this. The fuzzy, guitar-roar sounds were sweaty, too. Everyone in the crowd was sweating, at least a bit dehydrated, and yet ready for more by the end.
Happiest set: La Lom. Everyone was dancing and smiling the whole time, including the band. The back-and-forth cheering between La Lom and the crowd reflected how everyone was participating in a big party and not caring about the humidity.
Most Happy to Be There set: New Candys. I didn’t get to see every band at the festival, but of all the ones I did see, the Venetian trio seemed to be the happiest to be there and hanging out with the rowdy crowd and a bit surprised at how many people came to see them.
Trippiest set: Holy Wave. These guys do psych-rock very well and are local favorites. I usually see them in dark venues or at night, but the afternoon sun only seemed to make them sound brighter and dreamier.
Most Shredding in a Set: Ty Segall. There were a few times in his raucous set that he just unloaded a crate full of mega-riffs. How a mosh pit didn’t break out during this is beyond me. It must have been the heat.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Cheyenne Doerr for the press credentials and support.]
I heard the thunder rumbling as I started the walk to the Far Out Lounge for the second day of Austin Psych Fest. I got about three blocks when the rain started. My phone’s weather app said it was just an isolated storm that would soon pass. I put on the raincoat I’d packed and continued walking…
…into a full-on thunderstorm complete with flash flooding and rain hitting so hard that at one point I thought it was hail. I later learned there were funnel clouds in the area at the time. I sloshed my way back to the Air BNB place I was sleeping in for the weekend, wrung out my socks, and waited out the storm for at least another hour before making the trip in the now sunny, jungle-humid afternoon.
APF had been delayed for those two hours due to a couple lightning strikes. As a result, the first four bands of the day – Commercial Breaks, Strange Lot, The Dead Canyon Family Reunion, and Grocery Bag – ended up with canceled sets. Annabelle Chairlegs barely managed to squeeze in their set when the festival finally opened.
So, first on the bill for me was Ty Segall. I hadn’t seen him since the (unknown to everyone at the time) final Psycho Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2021. As one photographer in front of me said before the set, “You never know what you’re going to get with Ty.” That’s true. You could get a lot of shredding, acoustic ballads, or even electro-infused dance rock. For APF 2026, Segall and his band brought the rock.
Ty Segall and crew bringing another kind of thunder.
It was a fun set from him, and a ripper of a way to start my festival day. He included at least two new tracks which sound great. The set had a heavy 1970s garage rock sound to it, and I’m surprised mosh pits didn’t erupt throughout it.
Segall’s set was followed by a double-bill of psychedelia. Up first were world travelers Al Qasar who had everyone dancing and grooving with their neat mix of Dutch, Brazilian, Arabic, Jamaican, and several other nations’ sounds. They even ended with a wild reworking of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.”
Al Qasar taking everyone on a trip.
Then, Melody’sEcho Chamber performed to a big crowd who fully embraced their mind-bending sound and light show. I saw a lot of, ahem, blissed-out people during their set having a great time.
Is it a jellyfish? A butterfly? A jellyfly? A butterfish? That edible kicking in?
Many of us zipped over to the smaller stage to catch New Candys’ set. The Italian trio (No longer a quartet?) roared for the whole performance, knocking out heavy riffs, shoegaze fuzz, and slapping beats. “Damn, those guys are really good,” said a guy behind me once they’d finished. He was right.
New Candys with a delicious set.
The day ended with our hosts, The Black Angels, performing their Passover album in its entirety as well as other tracks (including at least one new song). The crowd was packed for them. One group in front of me had some weird fire dance circle going with a couple lighters being waved near the ground. The Black Angels are currently touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Passover, so don’t miss them. It’s a good opportunity to hear a lot of deep cuts.
Don’t pass over a Black Angels show! See what I did there?
Up next: Latin psychobilly surf rock, psychedelic cumbia, and a lot of soul!
I hadn’t been to Austin Psych Fest in several years. Mind you, I’d been to Levitation festivals multiple times, and on two continents, but I hadn’t been to APF since the Reverberation Appreciation Society brought it back after “APF” had been changed to “Levitation” and moved to the fall. APF returned to the Far Out Lounge in Austin a few years ago for the RAS’ spring festival, and this was the first chance I had to make the trip.
Austin’s own J’cuuzi were the first band on the bill and the first I wanted to see. They set a high bar to meet for everyone to follow, complete with dancers, t-shirt tosses, a somewhat famous spinning chair, a Capri Sun costume, bubble guns, and so much dance-punk / art-punk / glam-punk / drag-punk / I-don’t-know-what-the-hell-is-happening-punk that you could barely take all of it in during their set and left you feeling a bit post-orgasmic and somewhat baffled afterwards.
L-R: Durs, Gorge Bones, Trey Razeldazl. Oddly enough, this was one of the calmer moments of J’cuuzi’s set.
Next up were another local group, Almost Heaven. The electro-duo were celebrating the release of their first EP, Raw Cranium, and immediately commanded the stage upon the first note. The whole set was bumping, with solid, wicked beats from Jaelyn Valero and vocals from Stefan Barazza that reminded me of everything from The Cramps to Roxy Music.
Almost Heaven getting us pretty close to there, really.
Within moments of their set ending, you heard this loud wall of sound coming from the other direction. That turned out to be shoegaze rockers Glare blasting us with multiple guitars and echoing vocals. It was a change in tone for the festival up to this point, and not a bad one at all. Sometimes you need a ton of reverb and fuzz to keep you going for the coming hours.
Glare blasting us with power.
Not long after that, we dove into psychedelic waters (It is a psych fest, after all.) with Holy Wave. I’ve been a fan for a while, so it was good to see them again after a few years. As usual, they put on a good set of psych-rock that ranged from dreamy to heavy. I bumped into The Black Angels’ Alex Maas later and he described their sound as “like opening a scroll.” Accurate.
Casting spells with Holy Wave.
I needed a break by this point, so it was off to Torchy’s Tacos across the street for some much-needed grilled chicken nachos. They were delicious, as was the Cubs working their way to a win over the Rangers at the time. I got back in time to see a big crowd had gathered for Diiv and their trippy set of shoegaze rock that mixed in weird short films of corporate presentations and public domain footage. It reminded me of Devo’s corporate anthem stuff.
Diiv putting on a board meeting.
The night ended with a fun set from The Flaming Lips. The crowd was happy to have them back and they seemed delighted to be there. Confetti and balloons rained down on us for several songs, with “Turn It On” and “The Golden Path” being big highlights for me, as well as their encore of “War Pigs.” Everyone was exhausted but elated by the end.
A typical day for Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips.
The festival is off to a fun, sweaty start. Up next, more local talent, a guy I haven’t seen live for many years, Italian shoegaze, a twentieth anniversary show, and more!
Back in 2021, we were just coming out of a catastrophe that shut down the entire world. Everyone was euphoric from being able to get outside and see each other again. We’d seen how gorgeous the Earth is when we all pause and stop screwing with it. Rivers cleared, smog abated, dolphins swam in Venetian canals. We were given a vivid reminder of how vivid the world is.
New Candys are from Venice. Those dolphins might have swam right by their apartment building for all I know. They saw the change in the city, and the world from the pandemic. The clear waters and skies, and all of what had happened and what we lost before, during, and (they saw it coming) after them sureley inspired Vyvyd.
The album starts off with a killer bass line from Alessandro Boschiero on the track “Twin Mime” (a song about suppressed rage and desires finding companionship in them). Fernando Nuti‘s vocals are layered with echo effects, making him sound both present and distant at the same time. “Zyko” is a play on “psycho” and has a bit of grunge guitar flavor from Andrea Volpato. The title “Factice” might be a play on “practice” or “fact is” or “fuck this.” I doubt it has to do with rubberized oil (a “factice” arises from mixing oils with sulphur), but I’m willing to believe it could be a reference to display perfume bottles (“factices”) that are filled with colored water. I’m leaning toward “fact is” or “fuck this” with Nuti’s lyrics of feeling trapped (“We look so sick, I’m gonna lose my mind…Need to get out of here, somewhere to go far from my mind.”) and the lack of accountability by so many (“Are you forgiving what went wrong? I keep forgetting what we want.”).
Volpato’s guitar on “Begin Again” is beautiful and haunting. “Evil Evil” is fuzzy, frantic, fierce garage-psych with blasting guitar work from Nuti and Volpato and a driving, almost relentless beat from Dario Lucchesi. “Vyvyan Rising” has a great sound and feel to it across the whole track and, I think, is about Nuti questioning his faith (“All that I wanna know, are you speaking the truth? When everything around is getting so bright but ends up not being pure white.”).
“Helluva Zoo” slows things down just a touch, adding acoustic guitars to their soundscape. “The Clockmaker” has Nuti musing on how time gets away from us and how precious it is (“I feel lost since I have no memory. We should spend the time ahead as one being.”). The use of a ticking clock sound in this track is a great touch, as loud as a cowbell beat at the right time. “Q&K” stands for “Queen & King” and is about two people trying to find some kind of equilibrium, an allegory for the entire world in 2020 (“Are we alone together?”). The closing track, “Snake Eat Snake,” is about the desire to retreat within, which can eventually lead to a never-ending, meaningless introspection if you’re not careful.
Vyvyd was made during a weird time for weird times (which have only kept coming). Hearing it in 2026 still feels relevant. New Candys are still evoking vivid sounds and memories, and are currently on tour (soon to be at the 2026 Austin Psych Fest, among many other shows).
Hailing from Jakarta, Indonesia Strange Fruit have been playing synth / motorik / krautrock / electro music for over a decade and have now released a wonderfully trippy new record – Drips.
Beginning with the bouncy, blissful “Pouvoir Moteur,” Dino Kristianto‘s repetitive, robotic beats instantly get your head and feet bouncing and the synth work by Baldi Calvianca and Irza Aryadiaz and Nabil Favian‘s bass line locks in the groove. John Tampubolon‘s guitar chords drift in and out of the track like a groovy ghost.
“Iridescent” is like a haunting goth synth track you once heard in a car ride one night and have been searching for ever since. The lyrics allude to how light and color can cause euphoric bliss under the right circumstances…and so can the entire track.
Calvianca’s vocals on “Monopolar” sound like transmissions from orbit, and the rest of the track is something you’d want while doing a space walk to gather ore samples on an asteroid, or while drifting in a boat on an Indonesian river, or while making out at an afterparty…with an android.
The title track closes the EP and appropriately has Tampubolon’s guitar sounding like its melting like a slow-burning candle As if these four tracks weren’t cool enough, the EP includes the Jonathan Kusuma “Hypnodubmix” of “Iridescent” and four different versions of “Monopolar”: remixes by Tom Furse and Hardway Bros and then two live dub mixes (one with and one without vocals) by Hardway Bros. The Furse mix is especially good and makes the track even more psychedelic.
This is the kind of EP that makes you want to track down everything else a band has to offer.
Austin Psych Fest 2026is just around the corner! Today the festival is releasing the official schedule, along with lineup additions to their sprawling 2026 lineup. Austin Psych Fest takes over The Far Out Lounge May 8–10 with another wide-ranging exploration of psychedelic sound, bringing legendary icons, forward-thinking indie rock, global grooves, and deep-cut psych favorites to the big stage under the stars in South Austin.
The stacked 2026 lineup welcomes new additions to Friday’s roster including budding Austin favorites both garnering buzz for their enigmatic performances – trippy glam rock performance art outfit J’Cuuzi and electro-pop dance duo Almost Heaven. Saturday’s lineup additions include more Austin-based artists gaining traction – psych-rock band Dead Canyon Family Reunion and power-pop rock group Commercial Breaks.
Since its inception in 2008, Austin Psych Fest has embraced an expansive definition of psychedelia — not as a single genre, but as a feeling — tracing its roots from 1960s experimentation through modern interpretations shaped by reverb-soaked guitars, hypnotic rhythms, and adventurous songcraft. The 2026 lineup continues that tradition, spanning classic psych, indie rock, soul, cumbia, global psych, and everything in between.
Austin Psych Fest wouldn’t be possible without the support of its sponsors. The festival is excited to share the first round of this year’s partners, including Liquid Death, White Claw, Montucky Cold Snacks, Twisted X Brewing/McConohaze, KUTX and more to be announced.
Look out for final lineup additions to be announced soon, along with Kick Off and Night Shows across downtown Austin.
3 DAY PASSES and SINGLE DAY TICKETS available HERE. Early Bird Tickets have sold out and limited Tier 1 passes and tickets are still available!
Janis Stage 2:35 – 3:30 PM — Adrian Quesada (DJ Set) 4:25 – 5:00 PM — Como Las Movies 6:00 – 6:40 PM — Dumbo Gets Mad 8:05 – 8:35 PM — Trish Toledo
ADDITIONAL ACTS + NIGHT SHOWS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON.
VISUALS + VIDEO + ART INSTALLATIONS FROM: TV EYE • MAD ALCHEMY DRIP//CUTS SHELUSHY • ATTIC SPACE • SLIM REAPER • BILLGAZER CHURCH OF THE ETERNAL SUN • FEVER DREAM EL TALLER DE PIYAMAS • COSMIC DOMMY
Dion Lunadon has a habit of dropping crazy, wild records on a consistent basis and now he’s about to release Rare Gems Volume One.
The album is comprised of ten rare and unreleased studio tracks recorded between 2016 and 2026 and also features fan favorites, 1976 and When Will I Hold You Again.
The first single is the unreleased track, Dead Or Alive, which is already out for your listening pleasure.
Rare Gems Volume One is now available for pre-order. It will be available on 12” black vinyl and a very limited edition run of 2-tone liquid smoke vinyl, CD and digital download.
These bundle options are available through Dion’s Bandcamp page:
In case you’re not aware, Caron Decoy is an excellent doom / psych-rock band out of Detroit, Michigan whose newest album, Crush the Sun, explores mythological themes while unloading cosmic, colossal riffs. The trio of Jared Jordan (bass), Earl Mudd (guitar), and Casey Rowe (drums and vocals) were kind enough to participate in a short interview with me about their influences, other Detroit bands, and interests outside of music.
7th Level Music: I’m intrigued by your band’s name. Why the play on carbon decay, changing it to decoy?
Carbon Decoy: Honestly, it was just two words that we thought sounded cool when put together. We definitely were thinking of atomic structure and matter using the word carbon (evident with our first single “Atomic #6“), but there wasn’t much else that went into the name.
7LM: Greek mythology themes are prominent on Crush the Sun, with the story of Icarus and the characters of the Sirens being in the forefront on those tracks. Has mythology always been a favorite subject or inspiration, or did all of you gravitate toward it on this record for a particular reason?
CD: Mythology is definitely something that we all have a strong interest in and a subject we likely will continue to draw inspiration from.
7LM: Some riffs on Crush the Sun reminded me of heavy southern rock, and the opening riff on “Forest of Lies” has a great blues sound to it. Are some of those 1970s bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Mountain or Delta blues artists influences on all of you?
CD: We are all very influenced by the bands from the 70s. Mountain is a huge inspiration for the entire band. Creedence Clearwater Revival is another. The Delta Blues are at the core of many of our songs and a lot of Earl’s guitar work.
7LM: That being said, are there any influences you all have that some of your fans might find surprising?
CD: A lot of folks might be surprised to find out how influenced the entire band is by classic/outlaw country music. Honestly though, you never know what we are listening to when we’re cruisin’ in Casey’s Safari. Willie Nelson, Herb Alpert + The Tijuana Brass, Electric Wizard, Wu-Tang Clan, CCR. It’s like a box of chocolates in there.
7LM: While we’re on the subject of bands and other musicians, are there any other Detroit scene bands you all love and think more people need to hear?
CD: Detroit is thriving and busting at the seams with great music. We could go on and on and undoubtedly will forget someone, but just a few of our favorites include Glass Chimera, Cherry Drop, Sonic Smut, MRKT, Eck!, The Cult of Spaceskull, The Velvet Snakes, Dunamis, Winds of Neptune, Duende! and so many more.
7LM: Do you have any tour plans soon, or festivals you hope to make it to in 2026?
CD: We are taking it pretty easy in 2026. Jared added a new baby to his family this year. We have a short Midwest tour planned for the fall, and will likely add a few one-off dates through the summer.
7LM: I always like to wrap up with this story and question: I once heard an interview with Ray Charles, and in it he said he sometimes got a bit depressed because most people only wanted to talk to him about music. So, outside of music, are there other things you’re all fascinated with, or interested in, or just enjoy?
CD: Earl is an incredibly talented photographer and has a passion for film. Jared has a small farm and loves working cattle and gardening. Casey is an extremely skilled builder and loves working with his hands.
All thanks to Carbon Decoy and Ksu at Discipline PR!
Beneath the rollicking exterior of Yayo Trujillo’s Las Cruxes lies a tender heart. His Omaha-based solo project-turned-collective will release its third full-length, Las Cruxes, out April 24 via Conor Oberst’s Million Stars label. Today, Trujillo shares the single “Frio,” which explores the necessity of sadness atop distorted fretwork and a chugging beat. Spanish-language lyrics probe the desire to scream until nothing comes out while hoping you said the right things. It is cathartic and human.
On the track, Las Cruxes’ Yayo Trujillo shares:“‘Lo sé, lo sé, que nunca seré feliz, te prometo, siento que me muero,’ is how I feel every single day. The dreadful feeling of putting on a smile for the person you love. The mirror doesn’t talk back. We need sadness in our lives.”
As a native of Los Angeles, music guides Yayo Trujillo. “It all started hanging out with my older brother, who used to play traditional boleros to serenade his girlfriend,” he recalls. “I was lucky enough to tag along.” With a notable following in Mexico and Latin America, his Las Cruxes project has evolved in moves between Mexico City, San Francisco, and Omaha. He also spent years in Pastilla, a Latin rock institution on Aztlan Records and BMG.
As a Nebraska-based artist, it seems inevitable that Trujillo would encounter hometown hero Conor Oberst. After gigging at his bar, Pageturners Lounge, he signed a deal with Million Stars — the label now issuing Las Cruxes’ self-titled third full-length. The album embraces straightforwardness, favoring live performances captured on classic consoles with vintage microphones. The sessions were led by Bright Eyes affiliates Taylor Hollingsworth (Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band) and Adam Roberts at ARC Studios. It bears traces of new wave, shoegaze, and lofi experimentation.
Across 12 cuts, Spanish vocals crest over fuzzy melodies and pounding grooves. “The writing process was the same as everything else — very ‘let’s do this,’” Trujillo reflects. “No thought to it — just very natural, free flowing.” Opener “El último” unfolds with a driving bassline that escalates in a raucous chorus. “No creo que pueda olvidarte / No creo / No creo,” Trujillo repeats atop rickety fretwork. On “Déjà vu,” searing riffs interrupt brooding verses. Closer “By Frank” is the only English language piece, propelled by shakers and woozy organs. “I know it’s a lie they’ll never really tell you / I know it’s lust / I’ll never really tell you,” he proclaims in the refrain. Las Cruxes weaves macabre insistence with themes of mental collapse and romance.
Las Cruxes doubles as a solo practice and fluid collective, both on record and live. “I write everything, but I do it thinking about who is in the band at that moment — who’s wearing the Las Cruxes suit that week,” Trujillo muses. This time around, he tracked the majority of the instruments himself, though a handful of peers were invited to contribute. In addition to a cast of Omaha locals, Californian Ellie English (L.A. Witch) appears on drums. Jeffrey Davies (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) and Jorge Vilchis (La Gusana Ciega) were tapped for guitar. The record channels simplicity at its finest.
