Bird Nest Roys - Aint Mutatin (video)

Look Back In Anger: Hi, Swingers!! Its been a little while but its time to begin again. First off special shoutout to Yumi Zouma and GVB for turning me on to this amazing group of New Zealanders, from they heyday of Flying Nun. Like being swirlied in a toilet of rainbow tea, this woozy single reverberates with psychedelic warmth and glittering harmonies. Not unlike other excellent Flying Nun label mates, Bird Nest Roys, dabbled in both jangley college rock, and hazified Dream Pop. Cast in black and white and complete with groovy background dancers, The Roys, (with a wink and a nod), knowingly acknowledge their roots in late 60s drug music, like The Byrds, or The Stones circa Their Satantic Majesties; while simultaneously layering in touches of modern Pop, a la REM, or The Field Mice. This tune really reminds me of the My Bloody Valentine song, "Cigarette In Your Bed," with the way it phases around your head like lovely purple fog. Trust me this one is worth a listen. Dig it man, dig it:

Mazzy Star - California

Wispy, dissonant, dream-folk - the descriptive terms one might invoke when describing Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star. MS haven't released a proper LP since 96, when they were reigning high in the acousti-gaze scene, but now they're back! They're new album, Seasons of Your Day will drop in September, but California, the lead single is out now! Hope sounds as breathy and lonesome as ever and David Roback's guitar seems to still be lost in the paisley fog of the 90s. Yet, while this is a very Mazzified tune, there is also an air of the late 60s singer-songwriter era, not unlike Vashti Bunyan or even Karen Carpenter. Check it out, guys!

The Hollies - Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress

Sometimes its important to travel back into the past and live vicariously through ancient youtube clips. The Hollies were a group of Mancunian lads who arguably, were one of the first jangle-pop guitar groups to come out of the UK. Riding hard on the coattails of the Beatles and the Stones, they emerged with a completely indistinct 60s pop sounds, only to morph, later, into a 70s psychedelic, power-haus. Creep deep into these 2 videos. One is a very early, and awkward pop performance, where Graham Nash bounds in front of the camera with a big a smile. The other is a much more controlled and brooding, technicolor capturing of Long Cool Woman in A Black Dress.' behold: