Nextimeland - This record is a good record. It has jangles and melodies and holds together well. Robyn puts some holds on his lyrical obscurities to make it a little more graspable(sic) to the common head. This does not feel like a Soft Boys adventure however and that is because the SB were about MANIC crazed guitars and bad trips.This is a Robyn Hitchcock record played by the SB guys.It seems somehow wrong to call this SB cause that changes what the SB represent.Nice solo Hitch record tho.Recommended.Just don t expect anywhere near the energy that we had with the Softies. These guys are in thier 50 s so it cannot be expected that they would play with such fever as they did.It s like a reunion that sounds like Hitchcock more than SB.
Best Album of the Year? - Does it really matter how this album compares to Underwater Moonlight? What counts is that it may be the best album to come out in the past year. I ll admit this is the first Hitchcock album I ve ever owned, but it seems a pretty good place to start. Mr. Kennedy and Sudden Town have fantastic energy and great hooks, while My Mind (though more mellow) may actually be the best song on the record.
Maybe it ll rain tonight - Some might be disapointed that the Soft Boys first album in 20 years isn t Underwater Moonlight jr. But to my ears, Nextdoorland is actually superior in some respects. For one thing, the band is playing better than ever. (Several tracks feature some terrific extended dual guitar interplay between Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberly Rew that s a bit reminiscent of Television, oddly enough.) There s real verve and energy in the sound and performances, and the songwriting is consistently engaging, featuring structures that never go where you think they will (a chorus comes in where you d expect another verse, parts flow into parts without coming to a conventional chorus, songs that end in abrupt, unexpected eays, etc.). All in all, a triumphant return for Hitchcock and company.
Neo or retro? - The psychedelia-lite of this album, with proudly raspy, utterly English vocals, emphatically enigmatic lyrics and duelling guitars, calls to mind nothing so much as the mid-90 s pilferings of Britpop. But of course the grave that the likes of Elastica were robbing was that of great defunct bands like...The Soft Boys. Revisiting these revisitations seems strangely appropriate for the ultra-arch Hithcock and pals, and they don t really bother with the authenticity worries that their long hiatus might engender, but get right down to the business of putting together stretched-out poppy/punky/new wave guitar tunes with a surprisingly strong backbeat. There are a few clunkers, but generally it s a joy to listen to, and if some of the songs sound like they re made by a convention of Andy Partridge, Mick Jagger, and Ray Davies, well, you could do a lot worse. You can almost hear Blur s Damon Albarn taking notes.
An excellent album - A great, groovy reunion album by one of the kookiest groups of the early, olden days of the punk/New Wave scene. Robyn Hitchcock, Kimberley Rew, Matthew Seligman and Morris Windsor regroup to prove that old weirdoes can still rock out. In fact, this is a more focused and less gratuitously goofy album than most of thier ever-clever classic albums from the good old days... If you ever sometimes wished that the Soft would shut up and stop trying to trip you out, and simply play some rock music, then this album may be the one for you. The lyrics are still odd and idiosyncratic, but they don t hold the rest of the record hostage the way they used to. Recommended!