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Neo-Psychedelia

Neo-psychedelia covers a diverse array of artists from the end of the punk era to the present day, all of whom drew from the equally diverse original sounds of '60s psychedelia. Whether they played trippy psychedelic pop (à la the Beatles, early Pink Floyd, and countless others), jangly Byrds-influenced guitar rock, distortion-drenched free-form jams, or mind-bending sonic experiments, these groups looked to psychedelia as a wellspring of evocative, unusual sounds, and either updated or unabashedly copied the original artists' approaches. Some neo-psychedelia was explicitly druggy, while for others it was simply a logical complement to their bizarre lyrics or left-of-center outlooks. Neo-psychedelia has occasionally hit the pop mainstream -- Prince's mid-'80s work, for example, and some of Lenny Kravitz's retro-worshipping output in the '90s. But for the most part, it has been chiefly the domain of alternative and indie-rock bands. Neo-psychedelia first appeared on the British post-punk scene at the end of the '70s, with major figures including the Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen, and the Soft Boys. Aside from the early-'80s Paisley Underground movement and the Elephant 6 collective of the late '90s, most subsequent neo-psychedelia came from isolated eccentrics and revivalists, not cohesive scenes. Some of the biggest included the jangly, dreamy Australian band the Church; Nick Saloman's Bevis Frond, which mixed melodic songcraft with loud power-trio jamming; the droning, druggy haze of Spacemen 3; the quirky college rock of ex-Soft Boy Robyn Hitchcock; the utter weirdness of Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips; and the eclectic Britpop of Wales' Super Furry Animals.
Echo & the Bunnymen Super Furry Animals
Spacemen 3 The Flaming Lips
Spiritualized Screaming Trees
Mercury Rev Robyn Hitchcock
Love and Rockets The Church
The Olivia Tremor Control The Bevis Frond
The Legendary Pink Dots Neutral Milk Hotel
Lenny Kravitz The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Icicle Works The Dukes of Stratosphear
The Apples in Stereo Rain Parade
Ghost Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
The Three O'Clock Elf Power
Long Fin Killie The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Tones on Tail Phish
Green on Red The Verve
Hits 2
Prince (1993)
Very Best of Prince
Prince (2001)
Picture of Nectar
Phish (1991)
Sign 'O' the Times
Prince (1987)
Very Best of Echo & the Bunnymen: More Songs to Learn and Sing [CD/DVD]
Echo & the Bunnymen (2007)
Hits 1
Prince (1993)
Purple Rain
Prince & the Revolution (1984)
Radiator [Bonus Tracks]
Super Furry Animals (2005)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots [Japan Bonus Track]
The Flaming Lips (2002)
Chips from the Chocolate Fireball
The Dukes of Stratosphear (1987)