The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966), 4/10

The new psychedelic aesthetic exhibited in The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators provides a necessary shift in the psych rock movement but the murky production, grating sound, and colorless songwriting make it an unremarkable relic only notable for its novelty. This new sound is beaten into the ground and by the end of the record becomes a grinding and discordant image. Regardless, Erickson’s vocals are wonderfully raw and powerful in certain moments like the opener, or “Fire Engine” and the band has great driving energy through the entirety of the record including tasteful guitar soloing and drum breaks. Songs like “Don’t Fall Down” or “Monkey Island”, on the other hand, have little to offer outside of an already worn-out sound and style, even already explored particularities that persist ad nauseum. The “reverberation” that the band chants about and invades the majority of the album is simply irritating and makes already mediocre songs awful. When there is less to grab onto or questionable theatrics such as those found in “Fire Engine” or “Monkey Island” the album is at its worst. When things haven’t quite reached this level of irritation yet and Erickson’s vocals take center stage, examples being the opener “You’re Gonna Miss Me” and “Roller Coaster”, the album is at its best. The album’s cult classic status is questionable considering its generally irritating sound and largely unremarkable songwriting.