Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev
1998 [V2]

Mercury Rev's commercial breakthrough frequently sounds like a Flaming Lips record, which is not surprising given the osmosis between the two outfits. Bassist Dave Fridmann co-produces, a task he also tackles on most Flaming Lips albums, while guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Donahue plays on two of their records. A neo-psych classic.

The Moon & Antarctica
Modest Mouse
1999 [Epic]

Hailing from Washington state, frontman Isaac Brook has obviously listened to more than a few Pixies records. Although they would go on to huge commercial success, their debut on Epic is the record favoured by psych fans. Brock broke his jaw during recording and the result was a largely experimental record with a couple of nifty indie hits.

The Sophtware Slump
Grandaddy
2000 [V2]

A record saturated with sad tales of victims of the modern age, as is evident from the opening track 'He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot'. This is fairly clever and propulsive indie pop trimmed in places with some nice psych-electronica. 'Jed the Humanoid' and 'Miner at the Dial-a-View' keep the wry observations coming.

Internal Wrangler
Clinic
2000 [Domino]

One of England's best post-punk outfits once stated they were "like no other band". Simply put, that means there is a fair bit of variety on offer here, much of it courtesy of classic prog-rock keyboards like the Philips Philicorda. Single 'The Second Line' has gained the band some notoriety after being used in a Levi's jeans commercial.

Now Here Is Nowhere
Secret Machines
2004 [Reprise]

With a punk heritage, this Dallas trio specialises in combining the history of psychedelia into a pleasing pop pastiche. Although describing themselves as practitioners of 'space rock', there is way too much blistering psych guitar work here to ever fit in with the ozoners. Unfortunately, the follow-up Ten Silver Drops was a disappointment.

Free the Bees
The Bees (aka A Band of Bees)
2004 [EMI/Virgin]

For their major label debut the Bees soaked up all the ghosts of the 60s they could find in the Abbey Road recording studio. While much of the music draws on the psychedelic era, there are also soulful passages and a couple of beat rave-ups that show these guys blissfully stuck in the swinging past. Retro-rock at its very best.

Z
My Morning Jacket
2005 [Badman]

When his favourite bar burned down frontman Jim James found a jacket emblazoned with the letters 'MMJ' in the rubble. It seems more than appropriate for these eclectic modern masters of reverb. Those who detest copy protection on CDs (who doesn't?) might want to opt for an MP3 download. Either way, the music is terrific.

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
of Montreal
2007 [Polyvinyl]

Gone are the upbeat pop ditties so common in outfits associated with the Elephant 6 collective, replaced instead by the story of frontman Kevin Barnes' troubled personal life. Barnes is pretty much a one-man show here, with the music a sort of psychedelic rendering of arty glam. It's brilliant, but 2004's Satanic Panic in the Attic may be more typical.