During the 1980s the Australian underground produced a number of bands that were influenced by American garage music but added their own local twist to the sound. The Triffids, Died Pretty, Beasts of Bourbon and the Scientists to name just a few. Los Palms fit well into this tradition. Their self-described psych desert jangle harks back to this 1960s garage music, but it feels like an Australian Gothic version. This is music for sun bleached landscapes and wide-open spaces.

Woozy, droning organ phases in and out of tune. Guitars alternate between adding melody, texture, and accentuating rhythm. These songs are stories, a cinematic journey to somewhere mysterious and foreboding, but also impossible to resist. The vocal melodies are strong and are treated like another instrument, another layer of atmosphere. It all comes together to produce a swirling and sometimes disorientating soundtrack to a trip into the darker recesses of the mind.

None of this amounts to much if the songs are no good. These are great. Los Palms have written nine songs that have their own character within the psych rock boundaries. The album opens with the punchy ‘Scared of Saturday Night’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Cool’ – the jangly garage sound is established right out of the gate, with the latter being not unlike one of the more upbeat songs from the first half of Angel Olsen’s ‘Burn Your Fire For No Witness’. ‘Cadillac’ is a bit more of a slow burn, the solid groove of the rhythm section driving a song that feels like an epic despite being just over four minutes long. ‘Just a Sin’ could be from a modern spaghetti western soundtrack with its reverb-soaked and wiry lead guitar. ‘Sorrows’ is what we might have ended up with if Nick Cave fronted the 13th Floor Elevators. The melodic seventies soul of ‘Sandy’ brings another change of pace while ‘Sunday Death Drive’ is a rollicking bass driven slice of surf rock.

Los Palms have concocted a retro record that manages to feel fresh and timeless. Strong songs, dynamic performances, great musicianship, and attention to detail have ensured that ‘Skeleton Ranch’ is one of the best albums of 2022.