One of the best American psyche albums we've heard from the late 60s – a near-perfect record that's head and shoulders above the rough experimentation of most other groups from the period! Colours spell their name with a definite British twist, and there's clearly a Beatles influence going on here – a sound that's almost pre-Sgt Peppers, but which has wonderfully complicated time changes, vocal parts, and production techniques that must have cost a pretty penny to such a little-known group! Horns and strings are arranged by Dave Roberts, and handled with a sensitivity that almost matches The Zombies' best at times – and the tunes themselves are a fresh variety of odd themes, including one number about robbing a liquor store. Titles include "Brother Lou's Love Colony", "Bad Day At Black Rock Baby", "Love Heals", "Rather Be Me", "I'm Leaving", "Cataleptic", "Don't You Realize", and "Lovin". CD

A weird set of sitar and bongos backed sing-speak about gurus, devil gods, leprechauns, elves, opium, the wind, hippie boys and other oddball psychedelia enhanced storytelling from Kali,The Gypsy Star Child! We don't know a thing about Kali – she has a cute, girly-girl, Anytown, USA voice, but the hippie fantasy, pseudo spiritual storytelling is weird, yet genuinely committed – with droning, Eastern-tinged psych backdrops. Includes "A Game Called Who Am I", "Cosmic Remembrance", "A Cosmic Telephone Call", "From The Angel Liesle & The Buddha" and "How Can I Tell My Guru?" LP, Vinyl record album

A pre-punk bit of charged, hard grooving Motor City rock from Death – a lost record that takes a tightly coiled, blazing approach to their influences of garage rock and psychedelia – and a record that's all the better in that it was recorded way back in 1975! To put it bluntly, music didn't really sound like this in '75 – and it would be as easy to label the sound as something like, "mid 70s Detroit African American precursor to Husker Du", etc, but this is a honestly a pretty remarkable album for its time that we don't want to trivialize it with a lazy nutshell description. The group does distill their influences in a way that's reminiscent of some midwestern post punk, but Death is pre-punk, making it a really fascinating record, and a blast to crank up in your headphones! Titles include "Keep On Knocking", "Rock-N-Roll Victim", the longer, seemingly Arthur Lee influenced "Let The World Turn" (eventually nailing a fiercer sound the likes of which Love never messed with), "You're A Prisoner", "Freakin Out", "Where Do We Go From Here???" and "Politicians In My Eyes". 7 songs, 27 minutes, and pretty awesome. LP, Vinyl record album

Moby Grape's self-conscious, but hardly less groovy late 60s excursion into loose, free form and largely instrumental psychedelia – the sweet and therefore appropriately titled Grape Jam! GJ is really a world away from their earlier rock regalia – with superstar special guests Al "How Does It Feel" Cooper and Mike Bloomfield brought in the flesh out the open-ended sounds. The sounds roll from walloping instrumental rock, to bluesier jams, to some driving nearly funky bits! Titles include "Never", "Boysenberry Jam", "Black Currant Jam", "Marmalade" and "The Lake". LP, Vinyl record album

70s psychedelia from the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Brazil – incredible stuff that combines rawly percussive tropical sounds with a world of psychedelic creativity and possibilities – one of the best compilations ever put together by Mr Bongo! Lula Cortes was a pivotal figure in the scene and he's pretty well represented here, including his influential recordings with Ze Remalho. Even more exciting, though, is the stuff we've never been fortunate enough to hear before now – and there's a pretty good deal of it! The fusion of global psych and folk sounds into a distinctly Brazilian sound is nothing short of amazing – regional and traditional percussion underneath sitars, lutes, keyboards and more. It features songs by the great Lula Cortes & Ze Ramalho, Geraldo Azevedo & Alceu Valenca, Marconi Notaro, Flaviola E O Bando Do Sol and The Gentleman. 19 tracks in all: "Sorriso Delvagem" by The Gentlemen, "O Tempo" and "Desespero" by Flaviola E O Bando Do Sol, "Antropologica", "Maracatu" and "Fidelidade" by Marconi Notaro, "Mister Misterio", "Virgem Virginia" and more by Geraldo Azevedo & Alceu Valenca, "Bailado Das Muscarias" and "Maracas De Fogo" by Lula Cortes & Ze Ramalho, "Noite Preta" by Lula Cortes and more. (Brazil, Rock) CD

One of the coolest collections of underground Thai rock we've seen – and it certainly is The Heavier Sound Of the Luk Thung Underground – including a uniquely Thai vision flavored with a Black Sabbath riff, psych makeovers of Thai folklore, and a bunch great tunes that meld Bangkok life with western garage and psychedelia masterfully! All of the tunes are heavy in their own way, but it's by no means heavy in a simple hard rock way – loads of impassioned vocals, astounding percussion, tripped out guitar and other strings and woozy organ keep the arrangements exciting, and the otherworldly aspects play nice with accessible melodies. Titles include "Kuen Kuen Lueng Leung" (the aforementioned heady take on Sabbath's "Iron Man"), "Ruk Kun Samong" by Plearn Promdan, "Pai Joi" by Rung Petchburi, "Nam Mun Pang" by Sroeng Santi, "Dub Fai Kui Gun" by Sroeng Santi and more. 14 massive slabs of heavy Thai psych in all! (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest collections of underground Thai rock we've seen – and it certainly is The Heavier Sound Of the Luk Thung Underground – including a uniquely Thai vision flavored with a Black Sabbath riff, psych makeovers of Thai folklore, and a bunch great tunes that meld Bangkok life with western garage and psychedelia masterfully! All of the tunes are heavy in their own way, but it's by no means heavy in a simple hard rock way – loads of impassioned vocals, astounding percussion, tripped out guitar and other strings and woozy organ keep the arrangements exciting, and the otherworldly aspects play nice with accessible melodies. Titles include "Kuen Kuen Lueng Leung" (the aforementioned heady take on Sabbath's "Iron Man"), "Ruk Kun Samong" by Plearn Promdan, "Pai Joi" by Rung Petchburi, "Nam Mun Pang" by Sroeng Santi, "Dub Fai Kui Gun" by Sroeng Santi and more. 14 massive slabs of heavy Thai psych in all! (Global Grooves, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album