When Glasgow indie pop foursome the Pooches petered out following a final song in early 2017, the band's main songwriter James Hindle and drummer Calvin Halliday were soon reinvigorated by their chemistry as a duo. This included a shared affection for the mid-'60s jangle and bittersweet harmonies of bands like the Byrds and Peter & Gordon as well as descendants in '80s college rock and the Sarah Records roster. The resulting project, U.S. Highball, issued a pair of full-length D.I.Y. charmers in 2019 and 2020 before upgrading their equipment for the (again) home-recorded A Parkhead Cross of the Mind, their third straight album for the Pooches' label, Lame-O Records. The set's slightly punchier character is reflected in tributes to power pop and Hi-NRG, namely a cover of Jimmy Silva’s "Grease the Wheel" and closer "Let's Save Bobby Orlando's House," respectively. The latter song opens with strummed guitars over a brisk four-on-the-floor before settling into their typically bouncy, nostalgia-tinged indie pop. But before arriving at track 12, they deliver a reliable series of around-two-minute harmonic ditties that, even at their slowest tempos ("Grease the Wheel") uplift with ringing melodic guitar, head-bobbing rhythms, and affectionate vocal melodies that offer up lyrics about everyday life in titular Glasgow, from local neighborhood stops to playing music with friends. "Almost Cut My Hair" (not the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song), for instance, includes thoughts like, "In time you'll get to know/The words to 'Kokomo'/Played on your friend's guitar" before bearing in mind a neighbor ("Who is watching/Who is there/When you're creeping up the stairs?"). Elsewhere, standout "Double Dare" incorporates drum machine beats and call-and-response vocals into its catchy slice of life. Scampering by in less than 30 minutes, A Parkhead Cross of the Mind invites first-time visitors as well as repeat listens.