If You Like Pink Floyd, You’ll Like These 3 Artists That Sound Like the Iconic Psych-Rock Band

From their epic concept albums full of poignant social commentary to their uncanny ability to create music that’s somehow comforting and sinister all at once, Pink Floyd is truly one of the most inimitable bands in psych-rock history—however, these three artists that sound like Pink Floyd come close. If you’re a fan of Pink, you’ll likely be a fan of these artists. 

In fact, you might have caught one of the artists on this list performing with Roger Waters between 2018 and 2023.

Jonathan Wilson

The first time I heard Jonathan Wilson on the radio, I thought I was hearing a Pink Floyd deep cut that I previously overlooked. Much to my surprise, the song I was listening to was “Trafalgar Square” from Wilson’s 2018 album, Rare Birds. Much like Pink Floyd, Wilson’s track hones in on distinct “sections” of music, from pulsing bass lines that evoke images of driving fast along a desert highway to soaring lap steel that seems to transform that dusty strip of asphalt into a weightless ribbon of clouds in an instant.

It’s unsurprising that Wilson would have such a solid grasp on the production and arrangement techniques that made Pink Floyd sound like Pink Floyd. In 2017, Wilson began working with former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters as Waters’ touring and studio guitarist. If you caught a Roger Waters tour between the years 2018 and 2023, then you likely saw Wilson on stage.

RPWL

What’s the easiest way to ensure your musical projects sound like Pink Floyd? Start as a Pink Floyd cover band. Such was the approach for German prog-rock band RPWL, which formed in 1997 to cover the British psychedelic rock band’s most iconic works. Diving into the instrumentation, arrangement, and feel of Pink Floyd’s music helped inform RPWL’s subsequent albums, which featured the band solidifying their own sound.

After three years of covering Pink Floyd songs, RPWL released their debut original album, God Has Failed. Although the band certainly brought their own creative ideas to the record, Pink Floyd’s influence is still tangible throughout the 13-song tracklist. From the wailing guitar solos to the calm but powerful vocals, RPWL picks up where Pink Floyd left off, paying homage to their greatest influence without sounding like they’re ripping off the band’s big hits.

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire has explored a wide stylistic palette over their two decades of consistent writing, recording, and touring. But one “color” in their palette that they do beautifully is the trippy, spacey, and slightly sinister sound Pink Floyd mastered in their magnum opus rock opera, The Wall. Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler has cited Pink Floyd as an influence on Arcade Fire, particularly the band’s dedication to coherent sounds and visions of a whole album.

As far as Arcade Fire songs that sound the most like Pink Floyd, I’ve always been drawn to the Canadian indie rock band’s title track off their 2007 album, Neon Bible. With a voice that sounds soothing and sinister all at once, “Neon Bible” reminds me of music that Roger Waters might have made had the global timelines switched, and he found himself cutting his teeth in the early 2000s indie rock scene.

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