The Dimples "The Love of a Lifetime"

Recently,"The Love of a Lifetime" by mid-60s Scunthorpe group The Dimples has become my brain's hold music. So many mundane tasks (ok...mainly hand washing!) have been accompanied by me singing a rotten version of it. I suspect that some 60s R&B/Mod purists might be a little sniffy about its sweet sentiments and bubblegum catchiness. That's their loss as it's utterly charming and would entice Not Unloved onto the dancefloor any day of the week.

Mikah Wilson "Sunshine Grooves" 7"

"Sunshine Grooves" (You Are The Cosmos Records) came out last summer and takes the superior sunshine pop of the 1960s (The Beach Boys, The Yellow Balloon, Jan & Dean etc.) as its starting point and adds a generous dusting of icing sugar, a heaped teaspoonful of Creamola Foam and a handful of Rainbow Dust with predictably tooth-bothering results. Not Unloved, of course, has always craved the sweet stuff so fully endorses Mikah's recipe for making the world a brighter, gentler place. Whichever register (helium or counter-helium) he's singing in, Mikah's voice is a thing of wonder. Sometimes wholesome pop is the best pop!

Sunny Day Blue

"Your love illuminates my world with sunlight"

Getting to sleep is going to be tricky tonight thanks to the bout of giddiness brought on by securing a mint copy of this little ray of sunshine pop.  I became more than a little obsessed with 'Sunny Day Blue' a few weeks back after hearing the above clip, my interest in Fargo having been piqued by the coincidence of seeing a picture of their lp in two musically astute friends' online photo albums on the same day.  To these ears it's as good as anything committed to vinyl by Curt Boettcher or any of his contemporaries*. I adore its little diamante guitars and its air of complete wholesomeness. I'm willing to lay serious money on the fact that just listening to it is making me healthier not only mentally but physically; like it's helping me produce some much needed vitamin D.  Big thanks are due to T and K for unwittingly pointing me in Fargo's direction!

* That I've heard, that is.