Communicant "She Moves The Sky" (Hypnotic Bridge)

Hypnotic Bridge has had a really fine 2020 - it's reassuring to know that some folks have - and the recent Communicant 7" does nothing to take the gloss off it. "She Moves The Sky" is that rare thing: a modern psych tune that is hyper aware of its many antecedents and incorporates a host of familiar tropes and techniques but somehow doesn't come off as an exercise in past-aping but as a piece of music that needs to exist in its festooned-in-period-specific-adornments form. It has real oomph and dynamic range; the more you ramp up the volume, the better it gets, too.

Shadow Show "What Again Is Real?" (Hypnotic Bridge)

Buying import 7"s in 2020 is a gulp-inducing, wallet-emptying experience so Not Unloved has to choose wisely. A single play of Shadow Show's recent Hypnotic Bridge-released 45, however, was enough to have me shuffling the pack and diverting funds in their direction. The Detroit group have a keen ear for a killer guitar sound and a catchy melody with the result that Shindig! magazine just named it their #2 single of the year. A well deserved feather in their Paisley-patterned cap!

Electric Looking Glass "Death of a Season" (Hypnotic Bridge)

Although I've never had the gumption to go whole hog on the 60s throwback clothing (my unfortunately chunky thighs put paid to all hopes of looking good in that gear), I've always had a sneaky admiration for those who do. After all, there's not much in life that's better than being in a roomful of people in brightly patterned, flammable garb frugging extravagantly to sweet 60s garage/psych sounds. On the evidence of the video below, LA's Electric Looking Glass don't share my retro clothing reticence. Their music, too, has all the familiar elements of mid-60s soft psych but in "Death of a Season" they have produced a song so surprisingly soulful that it renders any accusations of past-aping meaningless. It's no faded facsimile, that's for sure. Without doubt it features one of my favourite vocal melodies/performances of 1967...sorry, 2019.

The flip is a perkier but equally adorable number with a great arrangement and more cheerful hooks than lesser groups manage in their entire career:

If you've ever enjoyed an issue of Shindig! magazine, you NEED this 7" now!