Supermarket

It is not easy to make a record in 2000 with a heavy mid- to late-1960s feel that doesn't strike jaded ears as pointless revivalism. Rockfour manage to largely succeed in doing so, to their considerable credit. The harmonies are very much in the late-1960s vein of the Beatles and Pink Floyd, while the melodies and slight sense of whimsy are likewise much in the late-1960s British psych pop mold, and the guitars often carry a Byrdsian ring ("Oranges" being the outstanding example). "Superman" gets into a bit of a (very early) David Bowie mold, not least due to its title. Certainly the creative use of Mellotron in particular is vital to the convincing dreamy psychedelic feel, as are ventures with the stylophone and wind organ. Of course, many bands draw inspiration from these musical giants of decade past, but Rockfour stands out from that pack in their superior sense of melodics, an unforced ease with the approach, and a diverse lyrical palette that encompasses frustration with government and the media, poetic spaciness, and (on "Oranges") paisley alternate-world dreaminess. Any attention this draws in the U.S. and U.K. may be partially due to the novelty of an Israeli alternative rock band, but, in fact, this would be worthy of notice regardless of its regional origin.