Psychedelic rock music is a branch of rock that took shape in the mid-1960s, inspired by the psychedelic culture of the time. It stretched songs out, bent guitar sounds with feedback and brought new instruments into rock, and within a few years it had become a bridge to progressive rock, hard rock and much of what followed.

Where it comes from

The style emerged in the mid-1960s among British and American musicians. In the United States, early names include the 13th Floor Elevators, the Byrds and the Doors; in Britain, the Yardbirds and the Beatles, whose Rubber Soul and Revolver are usually cited as landmarks. Its peak years ran roughly from 1967 to 1969.

What it actually means

Reference works describe a recognisable toolkit: electric guitars often played with feedback, long wordless sections, droning vocals, sitar and tabla borrowed from Indian music, Mellotron and early synthesizers, and song structures that break the usual verse-and-chorus pattern.

Psychedelic rock bands to know

Among the psychedelic rock bands with a guide on this site, Pink Floyd were among the first British psychedelic groups, and their debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn came out in 1967. In Los Angeles, Spirit formed in 1967 and are classed across psychedelic, progressive and art rock. On Long Island, Blue Öyster Cult also began in 1967, with a psychedelic streak in their early years.

Where it meets progressive rock

As the late-1960s wave faded, the bands that kept going moved toward roots rock, folk, progressive rock or heavier rock, which is why psychedelia sits at the root of so much prog. Pink Floyd went from psychedelia, through A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) and Atom Heart Mother (1970), to become one of the leading progressive rock bands. Psychedelic rock also fed into krautrock. For the difference in a nutshell, see psychedelic rock vs progressive rock, and for its spacier cousin, what is space rock.

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The revival

Since the late 1970s the style has returned again and again under the name neo-psychedelia, from the Soft Boys and Echo & the Bunnymen to the Flaming Lips, Spiritualized and Animal Collective, and the stoner rock of Kyuss and Sleep draws on it too. On this site, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, formed in Melbourne in 2010, and The Claypool Lennon Delirium, formed in 2015, both mix psychedelic rock with progressive rock.

Hear it for yourself

Three records from three eras: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) by Pink Floyd, from the first wave; Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970) by Spirit, from the turn of the decade; and Nonagon Infinity (2016) by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, from the modern revival.

Go deeper

For more terms like this one, browse the progressive rock glossary. To see where psychedelia led, read what is progressive rock, and if you are new to the genre, start with my progressive rock for beginners guide.

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