Fizzed-Out Psych and Crude Pennsylvanian Gold

The Starfyres — "Captain Dueseldorph" (1967)

Lansford, PA | Burr 1001

This one just makes me happy every single time. The Starfyres were a bunch of kids from coal country Pennsylvania and "Captain Dueseldorph" sounds like it was recorded inside a submarine — every instrument slightly out of tune, the whole thing wobbling and fizzing and somehow completely perfect. It's chaotic in the best possible way.

There's something genuinely magical about a track that sounds this loose and still lands every note exactly where it needs to. The flip side "No Room For Your Love" is a totally different kind of beast — fast and punchy — but "Captain Dueseldorph" is the one I keep coming back to. Put it on and just grin.

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The Half Beats — "Should I" (1966)

Chicago, IL | International Recording Co. acetate

The energy on this thing is just incredible. The singer is so genuinely done with this girl — not sad, not whiny, just completely over it — and that feeling comes through on every single word. The falsetto backing vocals hit at exactly the right moments. It's a perfect little breakup song that somehow sounds angrier than it has any right to be.

The Cheater Slicks covered this decades later, which tells you everything about how good the original is. This one circulates as an acetate, which makes it feel like a small miracle that anyone ever heard it at all. Really glad they did.

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The Insane — "I Can't Prove It" (1967)

Terryville, CT | Alien Associates 201

The Insane just go for it — pounding drums, wailing guitars, full commitment for three and a half minutes straight. There's a lot of soloing and general tomfoolery and it sounds like an absolute blast to have been in the room for. Connecticut garage rock at its most enthusiastic.

I love tracks like this where you can just feel how much fun the band is having. No second-guessing, no overthinking — just a bunch of guys playing as hard as they can and loving every second of it.

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The Invictas — "Do It" (1966)

Rochester, NY | Sahara 110

Soulful and hard-hitting with a hook that just won't quit. The Invictas put out a handful of 45s between '65 and '67 and this is the one that really delivers. That ending is so good — they knew exactly when to stop, which is a skill a lot of bands never figure out.

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The Lost Ones — "I Can't Believe You" (1966)

Sarver-Butler, PA | Mersey 002

Pennsylvania delivers again. This one is wonderfully raw — the drummer is clearly giving it everything, and somewhere in the background you can hear a guy reacting to the lyrics in real time, which is just the best. ("Oh no." "Awww." "Oh yeah.") The guitar solo is an ace. The label says "I Can't Believe You," the sleeve says something different — we're going with the label.

There's so much personality packed into this little record. That's the thing about these regional garage 45s — the people making them weren't trying to sound professional, they were just trying to capture something real, and sometimes they nailed it completely.

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