Nostalgia is such a discredited word, and if you connect its meaning with someone who believes that everything used to be better in the good old days, the kind of attitude that prevents people from exploring new things, then maybe it's rightly so. But to me the occasional trip back to what once was can also be something quite lovely. The uncrowned tzars of prismatic psych-pop of the Green Pajamas always proves to be mighty fine guides when it comes to taking me back in time. I could possibly refer to their connections back to the very best of the ?60s, as the ?Revolver?-styled bouncing pop bliss and Byrdsian mysteries are all over the place this time out as well. But I guess what I rather refer to is the memory of how much I adore this band. It?s a very pleasant reminder of the first time the Green Pajamas engulfed my aural membrane, on a particularly cold and rain-soaked Stockholm day some time in the late ?90s. With little hope of getting rid of the November depression that had taken a steady grasp of my mind I squeezed Strung Behind the Sun into the CD player and out came the most wonderful pop music I had heard in ages. It was a mesmerizing blend of power pop and psychedelic folk that was sweet and catchy as hell but at the same time full of soul, but most of all it was a record that breathed timelessness and ate lost Beatles and Kinks records for breakfast.

Their latest release is a CDEP titled Essence of Carol and it includes a few gems which would have shined like diamonds on pretty much all of these Seattlelites? previous outings. I am particularly fond of the breathtakingly lovely ?Missing Miss MacColl? which sparkles with effervescent popcraft and the soaring guitar and sparkling psychedelia of ?Dreams of Rhonda? is pretty much worth the price of admission alone. Dedicated followers of the ?Pajamas will recognize about half of the six tracks as some of them previously have seen the light of the day on various Earworm singles which now are out of print. So if you weren?t fast enough first time around or simply want to catch up on a magic pop ensemble which despite being around for twenty years remains sadly overlooked this is a place as good as any to start your journey back in time. 7/10 -- Mats Gustafsson (25 May, 2005)