2009 saw the rise of a new sound reminiscent of the ’80s and ’90s dubbed chillwave. If you haven’t heard the hype already, this is a hazy lo-fi sound full of synth and distant vocals. Like someone had gotten way too high and brought a few friends over to record on an 8-track to birth chillwave.

Blags brought the sound to prominence with their their celebration and reviews of bands like Neon Indian, Atlas Sound, Best Coast, Real Estate, Toro y Moi, and Washed Out. The sound sticks out enough on its own, though. God damn if it doesn’t fascinate me - if it doesn’t take me to some place where beams of sunlight probe through a haze of smoke.

And I guess it captivated everyone else, too. Dark Cave had an interesting take on it, which you can read here. The author wrote that they could no longer enjoy chillwave, because the blags that had praised the sound so much began to denounce it, like it was suddenly too trendy and in a typical hipster fashion, they had to abandon it. It really got me thinking.

I mean, let’s face it: the internet is a fickle place where one can worship cats with poor spelling and grammar and take advice from a puppy. Regardless of any new terms it may or may not be given, chillwave is still psychedelic. And I’m stoked to see a rise in popularity of the psychedelic genre.

So kick back and transport yourself to someone’s basement where people are probably stoned and enjoy the trip with the songs below:

“Should Have Taken Acid With You” -Neon Indian

“The Sun Was High (So Was I)” -Best Coast

“Sheila” -Atlas Sound

“WAAAAY Too Much Purple” -Weed Diamond