Robyn Hitchcock :: S/T

RHAfter nearly four decades of consistently inspired/inspiring songwriting, Robyn Hitchcock has very little left to prove. But happily, he sounds absolutely energized on his new self-titled LP, his 21st solo album. It’s his most electric and electrifying effort in quite some time, filled with Hitchcock’s unmistakable six-string leads, Byrdsian harmonies and plenty of weird and wonderful lyrics.

Recorded in Nashville with producer Brendan Benson,  Robyn Hitchcocks crack backing band  is a pleasure throughout, as effective on the punchy, Soft Boys-worthy “Virginia Woolf” as on the big Lennon-esque ballad “Sayonara Judge,” or the skewed psychedelia of “Raymond & The Wires.” The latter song is particularly notable, Robyn’s memory of a trolley bus ride with his father in 1964 – it’s the sort of oddly touching tune that only he could write. The inescapable ravages of time seem to be increasingly on Hitchcock’s mind (though let’s be honest, he was a death-obsessed young man, too); the chorus of “Mad Shelley’s Letterbox,” one of the new album’s standouts, goes simply: “Oh God, you were beautiful.” But  Robyn Hitchcock  suggests that there’s plenty more beauty to come. Here’s to 21 more albums … words / t wilcox

Robyn Hitchcock :: Mad Shelley’s Letterbox

Related: Acid Bird :: A Robyn Hitchcock Companion — The First 20 Years

One thought on “Robyn Hitchcock :: S/T

  1. Spot on. He’s great, and even though I know several of his past records well (Globe of Frogs is an all-timer) I should know everything. And man, his gig in a small club in Columbia SC over 20 yrs ago is one I’d like to hear again. Insanely creative fellow who’s been nothing but himself.

Comments are closed.