Recently, former Black Flag singer, Rollins Band frontman, spoken word artist, radio show host, author, poet, and occasional loudmouth Henry Rollins wrote a column in the LA Times about visiting Santiago de Chile and discovering a whole new world of music. During his trip to the Chilean capital, he visited some record shops and the headquarters of BYM Records. In his writing, he praised the sounds of Föllakzoid, The Ganjas, La Hell Gang, and Chicos De Nazca, and raved about hitting the musical jackpot.
Of course, we can’t fault Henry for not keeping up with Latin American psych rock, although reading this website would help. Since your friendly neighborhood Remezcla is always at the ready to bring you up to speed, here are bunch of recommendations for Rollins to dig further. We’re skipping Chilean bands, since we’re sure he’s also into The Holydrug Couple and Nueva Costa (or he’s just about to discover these bands), so we’re focusing on bands from other countries to further expand his horizons, although this is just a springboard.
1
Fantasmes (Puerto Rico)
The pivotal Puerto Rican band – and founders of Casa Fantasmes – craft a sound that is ghastly, folky, and acidic. It should make any fan of psych set their mind adrift.
2
Los Mundos (Mexico)
The Mexican band has some heavy, swirling guitars to their sound, and their prolific output is sure to have fans spending hours picking favorites time and time again.
3
Lorelle Meets The Obsolete (Mexico)
With nods to classics like The Jesus and Mary Chain and improvisational sections influenced by 70s krautrock, LMTO are an ideal band for someone who wants everything in their psych rock.
4
Boogarins (Brazil)
Hailing from Brazil, Boogarins show a ton of influence from their spiritual forefathers Os Mutantes and Caetano Veloso, adding tons of guitar exploitation and sweet melodies.
5
Vinnum Sabbathi (Mexico)
This is a heavier sound compared to the other bands on this list and compared to the bands Rollins got into recently, but it’s worth checking out. Slow beats, heavy and droning guitars, and samples from space missions – it’s all here.