This Montreal group is really tops when it comes to mimicking the Monks , Electric Prunes and assorted Nuggetsian vibes of the psych garage sound of the 60s, while keeping a toe in the contemporary. I often wish today’s bands would reel back a touch on the ‘verbed vocals, but it barely detracts from this gratifying and granular EP from a promising new band.

Heavily textured psychedelic dreampop? Yes please, when it’s this masterfully created. I was alerted to Vancouver’s awesome White Poppy by a friend after the Drifter’s Gold album came out, but she had released an eponymous full length by the time I got around to doing this top 10. Major drift, beauteous chords that wash over blissfully, embedded with ambient shades of early Cocteau Twins and/or Piano:Magic but even that doesn’t approach the full majesty of this album. Definitely west coast it gives me the same frissons I used to get listening to Bugskull while stoned on the Seabus. Gorgeous.

Pretty much one of the few interesting hardcore freaks out of Trois Rivieres, Full Blood lives up to the name by playing covered in blood and putting every inch of piss, fire and vinegar into their frenetic shows. Hopefully more tunes coming soon, this shit-fi teaser of an EP is an indication of more bloody magnificence to come.

I defy you to get the opener “I” from this astoundingly good album by Philly’s Sandcastle out of your head. This is the kind of track you giddily share with friends and watch as their faces screw up in sheer joy as they feel the sex dripping off the tune. Yes, they rip T Rex , but T Rex is awesome so who cares? IT’S AMAZING. A trawl through the rest of their considerable output displays a band that is slowly spinning towards their own identity while casting off the occasional earworm like it ain’t no thing, easy as drinking water.

Worcester based Huge Face is one of the sweetest sounding bands in the deluge of fucked up radness emitting out of the Boston area right now. There are so many good bands from New England lately I can barely keep up, but Huge Face, with thick and sugary production and doubled-up everything is just chockablock with pleasing hooks and pop-rock sweetness with a shredding edge. Dig the giant drums and synth/guit interplay on this sample of their new release Body War .

From the ashes of the deeply talented and unique New Jersey band Lady In The Radiator , Nice Life is the brainflower of guitarist Ben Luckman who writes some simple and gorgeous tunes that carry all the pain and majesty of life in a wry self-deprecatory style, which only embellishes the humanness and candour. You get the feeling when Luckman reaches nearer the pinnacle of his considerable talents, we will all be the richer for it.

Garage chroniclers Mongrel Zine have started putting out 7 inches, which is totally rad.. and who better to release than the astoundingly prolific and chimeric, consistently good Red Mass. Side A gives us “Candy”, a psych syrup propelled by acoustic guitars and everything including the kitchen sink, Roy Vucino warbling over a pan-happy trip-out, even featuring a violin breakdown in the middle by local writer/violin shredder Ariane Gruet-Pelchat. Totally awesome. The flip belongs to Cindy Lee, a new project outta BC by the dude from Women. “Holding the Devil’s Hand” is an ethereal nod to Spector, minus the strings and has a real fragile, shambolic beauty, limping just a little bit from over-reverbing the vocals (sorry, it’s a thing with me!). A fantastic little package, hopefully many more east/west coast collabs to come. Mad props to Mongrel Zine for starting to put out great music!

Freelove Fenner was among the first bands I reviewed for this mag, and it’s great to check in with them again on this new release, on one of the more diverse and interesting labels in town, Fixture. The floaty timelessness of the new album, which is quite a tome, is anchored by a sharp and heavy rhythm section, allowing the floatier bits to echo and evolve as they should. Always using an engaging and sonically diverse blend of tones, there is a pleasing gestural darkness to this record that keeps the songs aloft from adjectives like “twee”. At once dry while dripping with psych adornments, I would suggest this gorgeous release for long train rides or night-time drives.

I picked up Cambridge, Mass’ Fedavees 2011 Solar Flower 7” while on tour a year or so ago and it one of those recordings that everyone immediately perks up when it’s on.. “Wow, what’s this?”. One of the raddest and baddest psych bands from the hyper-explosion of same that is New England these days, Fedavees are a cut above, treating everything in liberal dollops of fuzzy, phasey and delay-ey goodness that never obscures the hooky songwriting beneath the haze. Really really good and I suggest you grab this phenomenal cassette while you can, best consumed in conjunction with the herbal blend of your choice!

Montreal-based musician originally from New Jersey, Vinny Edita is a rad as hell songwriter whose sophistication belies his age (dude is 19! Holy shit, eh?). I know he has aa new album of mostly acoustic numbers, it can be found on his bandcamp, but right now this batch of electrified pop is more my jam. Earnest without being limp, there is a punk sneer behind the sweet, summery poppy tunes, whose blend of clever lyricism and shambolic guitar pop gnar bring to mind my old buds Andrew Vincent and the Pirates , I’m certainly eager to see what is yet to come from this talent in the bud.