10 Trippy Albums You MUST Hear Before You Die

Psychedelic music emerged in the 1960s when the Western world suddenly began craving liberation from social norms, and the right to self expression after years of political and social unrest. With a new found sense of freedom, musicians, who sometimes found themselves under the influence of psychoactive substances, began to create a soundtrack that was reflective of their colourful, often hallucinatory experiences. Gone were the clean-cut, suited and booted musicians of yore, and in were the bohemian, multicoloured minstrels of now.

Though psychedelia reached its pinnacle in the sixties, the trippy tune tradition has continued throughout the decades under many guises. From classic rock to avant-garde, and funk to punk, listed below are ten trippy albums that traverse the musical landscape, while maintaining an inherently mind-expanding, psychedelic sound.

Despite their differences, each of these artists and groups have one crucial thing in common – they have each produced a sound that is uniquely theirs, never being afraid to stray from the status quo. By making use of unusual instrumentation and new technologies, or stirring vocals and curious lyrics, their music seeks to bring you out of your comfort zone and into your subconscious.

Formed in Seattle in the late eighties, Malfunkshun stood out from their peers, due to their sheer eccentricity and glam rock leanings. Released in 1995, several years after its initial recording, and five years after the passing of frontman Andrew Wood, who tragically died from a heroin overdose, Olympus is part personal diary, part fairytale, set to trashing guitar and arena-ready vocals.

Taking on the persona of Landrew the Lovechild, the charismatic Wood, along with his guitarist brother Kevin and drummer Regan, set out to create their own mythology – a self styled brand of “love rock”, accentuated by face makeup and outlandish outfits to boot. The blatant drug references, such as “My señorita dances for me/Complete with Vaseline and a jar of LSD” in “Mr. Liberty (with Morals)” and “White pleasure powder/Drug of the rich” in “I Wanna Be Yo’ Daddy”, are juxtaposed with tender ballads like “Until the Ocean” and “Luxury Bed (The Rocketship Chair)”, taking the listener on a journey of seemingly extraterrestrial origins.

A key artefact in the timeline of the history of grunge, the album is, at worst, amateurish and naïve, and at best, full of mysticism and raw energy, guaranteed to make your brain tingle.