Archive for psych-rock

Video Interview: Ealdor Bealu, Boise’s Best Band, Talk About Their ‘Most Americana’ New LP at a Pond

Posted in Interviews with tags , , on 07/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

On an unusually comfortable day in late June, Ealdor Bealu – the best band in Boise, regardless of genre – gave The Bad Penny one of our more memorable interviews of the year. And in video form, so you watch the entire conversation now that you’ve no doubt heard the heavy/desert rock band’s fourth record, Graves of the Silent Plain. As we enjoy our gabfest atop some rocks, we kept our eyes peeled for beavers, turtles and other wildlife – fitting for a discussion of an album that the band calls “the most Americana” release it’s issued thus far.

It’s hard to overstate how superior the effort is compared to Ealdor Bealu‘s previous releases, although it must be stated they were all formidable in their own right: the cerebral and moody Dark Water at the Foot of the Mountain (June 2017), the deeper dive into shamanistic psychedelia courtesy of Spirit of the Lonely Places (July 2019) and more naturalistic Psychic Forms (April 2022). Aside from being the most cohesive, narratively engaging and catchy Ealdor Bealu album to date, the band put out Graves of the Silent Plain through Ripple Music. So, even if choose not to familiarize yourselves with the band via this article and video, rest assured you’ll be hearing plenty about them soon.

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Listen to My Discussion About Psychedelic Music on WCRS LP-FM’s ‘Ear Opener’ Radio Show

Posted in News with tags , , , , , , , , , on 05/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Check out my lengthy (and hopefully informative) appearance on WCRS LP-FM’s radio program The Ear Opener about modern psychedelic music with host, Programming Director and great guy Pat Leonard. (WCRS is a non-commercial, listener-supported community radio station.)

In addition to our conversation, I provide commentary on Turtle Skull’s “Into the Sun,” The Birch’s “Free your Head,” BLKE’s “Money Says,” Vitskär Süden’s “R’lyeh,” Gift’s “Going in Circles” and Tumbleweed Dealer’s “Dark Green.” (I’ve also written about those songs in my Treble column on psychedelic music, called The 13th Floor.)

The show aired last night in Columbus, Ohio; and plays in Western Pennsylvania this morning. You can listen to it right here anytime:

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Song Premiere: Strawberry Alarm Clock’s ‘Monsters’

Posted in Exclusives with tags , on 10/02/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

For all the love and attention that psych-rock is getting these days – mostly courtesy of and directed toward newish bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Osees and Ty Segall – there’s still a dearth of appreciation and respect for some of the bands that established the heady, colorful sound in the first place. They include 13th Street Elevators, Love, Captain Beefheart and – perhaps more than all the rest – Strawberry Alarm Clock.

The band that formed in 1966 in Glendale, California, is perhaps best known for its prime placement in the über-cult 1970 classic movie Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, directed by sexploitation pioneer Russ Meyer and written by Roger Ebert based off a bizarre and beyond-campy story they both wrote. Strawberry Alarm Clock’s best-known song remains “Incense and Peppermints.”

Strawberry Alarm Clock has undergone lineup changes and breakups over the years but is roaring back with a new single, “Monsters.” The song sees an official release tomorrow with the B-side “White Light,” and The Bad Penny couldn’t be more proud to premiere both a day early. The record release of “Monsters” marks the first time a Strawberry Alarm Clock song has appeared on vinyl since the band’s initial stretch from 1966 to 1971.

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