Bless the Weather

Psychedelic folk (often called acid folk or psych folk) blends the acoustic intimacy and modal harmony of traditional folk with the exploratory textures, surreal lyricism, and studio experimentation of psychedelic music. It typically favors acoustic guitars, hand percussion, flutes, drones (e.g., tambura or harmonium), and small acoustic instruments, while embracing effects such as reverb, delay, tape manipulation, field recordings, and unconventional song structures. Lyrics tend toward the pastoral, mystical, and dreamlike—drawing on folklore, nature, and visionary or inward-looking themes. Musically, it often uses modal melodies (Dorian, Mixolydian), drones, fingerstyle guitar in open tunings, and hypnotic ostinatos, creating a hazy, otherworldly atmosphere that sits between singer‑songwriter intimacy and psychedelic exploration.

The Second British Folk Revival was a mid-20th-century resurgence of interest in traditional song and dance music of the British Isles. Emerging in the years after World War II, it drew on field-collecting, scholarship, and a growing network of folk clubs to bring ballads, sea songs, and dance tunes back into contemporary performance. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the movement broadened from unaccompanied singing and acoustic ensembles to "electric folk" (or British folk rock), as bands adapted traditional repertoire with drum kits and amplified instruments. Its peak arrived in the early-to-mid 1970s, after which its mainstream visibility faded, though the repertoire, techniques, and community structures it fostered have remained foundational for later folk, singer-songwriter, and indie-folk scenes.