72. The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

Artist: The 13th Floor Elevators
Album: The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Year: 1966

So there's the word that would come to define the second-half of the 1960's in the minds of most people: psychedelic. This is music that would best be enjoyed if in some kind of altered state.

I liked this album. Quite a lot in fact. I will say I would've enjoyed it even more if I'd been able to blow over .10 whilst listening to it. Maybe I'll try that another time. "You're Gonna Miss Me" is a great little rock song in the vein of The Rolling Stones, with singer Roky Erickson caterwauling his way through the chorus and oddball synth bubbling underneath (if not synthesizers, I have no idea what is creating that weird bubbling sound). "Roller Coaster" sounds like a haunted-house version of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love." "Fire Engine" is an amusing little tune with its faux sirens. "You Don't Know" is my favorite song here, a ridiculously catchy song if you can get to it through the layers of murk and feedback.

I didn't think this was a masterpiece or anything, but there's definitely something about the music that makes it far more interesting to me than, say, the aforementioned Stones. It's swirly, murky, reverb-laden music where little catchy melodies worm their way out of the woodwork from time to time. The same can be said about a lot of the shoegazer bands I listen to. This really isn't that far off from early shoegazers like The Telescopes, Loop, and Spacemen 3, for that matter. What brings me back to those bands repeatedly is the hypnotic effect of their oddly melodic guitar riffs, and there's some of that to be found here. No doubt, I'll be listening to this one again--drunk next time and as loudly as possible? We shall see.

Rating: Worth repeated listens