Gary Higgins

The past decade has been marked by the rediscovery of many lost artefacts of the late '60s/early '70s psych-folk era, driven by scores of intrepid archaeologists dreaming of finding the new Nick Drake. Few came as close as those who championed Gary Higgins' Red Hash, an album that stalled out of the gate in 1974 due to its creator being in jail on a drug charge. Still, its 2005 reissue proved to be an important touchstone for those in the psych-folk scene at that time, containing some of the melancholic beauty of Elliott Smith's best work. Although under 25 minutes long, A Dream A While Back presents much of that magic again, in the form of six songs Higgins recorded in 1970/'71 alone on acoustic guitar. It's further proof of how melodically advanced Higgins was compared to many of his contemporaries, and any fan of Red Hash will want this as a companion piece.