Aural Fixations

ROBYN HITCHCOCK
Spooked
(Yep Roc)
Robyn Hitchcock's kept a low profile the past few years, preferring to release records on his own rather than use the corporate machine to expand his cult audience. So a lot of Hitchcock fans like myself have missed his most recent work and, thus, his continued creative development. To the greater rock audience, Hitchcock is a novelty singer obsessed with insects and reptiles. While that accusation certainly held a bit of weight 15 years ago, he's since evolved into a superior singer/songwriter, using his quirky imagery to convey common emotions over increasingly memorable melodies. Spooked finds the Londoner collaborating with American roots music luminaries Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, both of whom subsume their own personalities in deference to the headliner. Mostly (but not entirely) acoustic, the record has a warm, intimate aura, letting the listener feel as though he or she is sitting in the living room with the musicians as they run through the tracks. In keeping with the sonics, Hitchcock eases back on the bizarre narratives and instead concentrates on love, albeit romance as filtered through his own sensibilities. The metaphorical "Television" (with its odd but catchy "binga-bonga-bing-bong" chorus), gentle "English Girl" and semi-rocking "Sometimes a Blonde" (in which Hitchcock extols the virtues of "heavenly nightshade") are some of the bard's most winning songs, masterfully written and beautifully performed. He extends the good vibes to the rest of the universe with "Everybody Needs Love" and "Full Moon in My Soul," hopeful hymns that only Hitchcock could prevent sounding sappy. Fans of the stranger side of Hitchcock's personality still have bon-bons to chew on with the oddball singalongs "Demons & Fiends," "Creeped Out" and "We're Gonna Live in the Trees," though even these seemingly innocuous ditties have hidden meanings. (The brief spoken word piece "Welcome to Earth," however, is just a bit of fun.) It says something for Hitchcock's upward creative momentum the last few years that his songs are easily better than Bob Dylan's "Tryin' to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door," covered here. Fans of "Balloon Man" may be a bit put off by the maturity and craft displayed on Spooked, but any doubts will be washed away after one immersion in this amazing record. Michael Toland [buy it]