Nope - you did fine. I wouldn’t use the word “twangy” to describe the guitar - that is what pointed me to the Sonics, since their riff is bigger and, well, twangier. The riff in that song sounds more sitar-like - which makes sense, given the era and the other bands from back then that had a sitar-guitar song in the set list (Norwegian Wood, Paint it Black, Heart Full of Soul, etc…)
Glad you found out the name - I’m going back to listen to The Sonics!!
I never thought of the vocals on that song as being as distorted as you describe… they’re not the clearest, but I never found them all that indecipherable. So, maybe it is your speakers…
As far as your description, I guess one thing that would have helped to narrow it down would have been to say that the song features a very prominent wah-wah guitar.
I remember ‘Matchstick Men’ well as it’s on the original Nuggets compilation. Many of drugs were taken to the trippy sounds… But I did not know that they continued on at least through the 90’s and have been one of the UK’s most enduring bands, while receiving no love from the US. AllMusic states that at some point in the 90s they had charted 50 Top Ten singles in the UK, more than any other band. Now that bit of trivia will win you some free drinks at the bar won’t it.
I’d like to mention that Camper Van Beethoven did an amazing cover of this song on their Key Lime Pie album. Really takes the song to a whole 'nother level.