Hypnotic Four - Hypnotica! CD EP (www.espsoftworks.com/hypnofonic)

A lotta energy from this Sacramento-based foursome here on their EP! Clean two-guitar sound, punchy bass, and supercharged drums that all remind me of Michigan's Goldentones. The originals are well-developed melodies with good bridge parts, not just 2 minutes of the same riff repeated a dozen times. Unfortunately, I think I've reached my saturation point on covers of Squad Car, but the H4 do a nice straight take here. On Bees Knees they sound like Satan's Pilgrims from their first album, with a clean hi-note melody and bubbling reverbed rhythm git. My favorite track is Andy's Moods, which starts with a restrained, menacing guitar line, then breaks into a full double-picked assault. Let's hear a full-length!