Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Robyn Hitchcock’s Eponymous 21st Album is an “Ecstatic Work of Negativity”

Robyn Hitchcock - "Raymond and The Wires" (Official Video)
Twenty-one studio albums into his career, Robyn Hitchcock has released a self-titled record. In recent interviews, when asked about the album’s title and why he chose to release an eponymous record so far into his career, Hitchcock has suggested Robyn Hitchcock is an introduction to his music. “Think of me as a new act – I’m only 63. People always ask me, ‘where should I start listening to your records?’ I’m a train with many carriages. I thought, I’ll just make this record and if people like this one, then they’ll probably like the others. If they don’t, it’s not worth them listening to any of them, really.”

The album originated in 2014, following Hitchcock’s move to Nashville, Tennessee. Friend and neighbor Brendan Benson offered to produce the record, with a single caveat: to make it sound like the Soft Boys.

“I said, well, I could use the same instrumentation,” Hitchcock notes. “Two guitars, bass, drums, and harmonies. Which obviously is the template that comes from the Beatles and Big Star and the Byrds, all of those groups that the Soft Boys were nourished by. But of course I’m not fueled by the same nutrients anymore.” The resulting album is Hitchcock’s liveliest record in years. The track “Virginia Woolf” draws on the sounds of the Soft Boys, per Benson’s request, while tracks like “Mad Shelley’s Letterbox” and “Time Coast” recall the alt-pop of Hitchcock’s time with The Egyptians, and others still evoke his quieter solo albums like I Often Dream of Trains.

Expanding on the comment that he’s “not fueled by the same nutrients anymore,” Hitchcock adds”I don’t have the same anger that I had as a 25 year old.” This is clearest in Hitchcock’s lyrics. Robyn Hitchcock‘s opening track, “I Want to Tell You About What I Want,” (and originally titled “My Vision of World Empathy”) talks Hitchcock’s vision for the future of humanity: “I want world peace / Gentle socialismo / No machismo / And the only god shall be / The god of L-O-V-E /I want a non-invasive kind of telepathy / That let’s you feel what it’s like to be somebody else.” The song never ditches Hitchcock’s off-kilter sense of humor, however. The next verse speaks of the eventual domination of the world by cats.

Hitchcock describes his latest record as “an ecstatic work of negativity.” His description of the album is apt. Even with the darker, cynical currents of the lyrics, the album is full of energy. To give Hitchcock the last word, “I’ve been making autumnal records since I was 30. Now I’m past the autumn of my life so I’ve decided to start making spring records. I can’t be bothered to sound as ancient as I am.”

Robyn Hitchcock is out through Yep Roc Records and available on Amazon, iTunes, and the Yep Roc store.

Writer’s Note: In addition to contributing to The Manual, I work at a music promotion company, Distiller Promo, that is currently promoting Robyn Hitchcock.

Terence Praet
Terence Praet contributes to The Manual’s New Music Monday column. He studied Philosophy and History at Skidmore College…
From Gilda Radner to Ali Wong, these are the best female comedians of all time
These women from all generations will make you laugh out loud
Ai Wong comedian 2017 Moontower comedy festival

Hot take: I don’t care for straight male comedians. It’s not that they’re not funny, they’re just … I don’t know, boring? Maybe that’s reductive of me, but I never seem to leave a straight male comedian’s set feeling particularly inspired. And though some may argue that it’s not important for a set to "inspire" its audience, I’d actually argue that the opposite is true. For me, I want to see a comedian use humor to address real issues and say real things about the world, even if they do it in a completely goofy way.

Therefore, I tend to prefer female and female-identified comedians. They’re sharp, tough, and have often seen shit that makes their comedy feel raw and true. Undoubtedly there are male comedians who do this, too, but to a much lesser degree, in my very humble and very personal opinion.

Read more
12 classic sci-fi books everyone should read
If you love science fiction and reading, these classic sci-fi novels are a must
Man reading a book and drinking coffee

It may feel like we were recently living in a science-fiction dystopia life -- and in some ways, we were -- but that doesn't mean that we should simply avoid an entire genre of writing. Hardly. In fact, this is probably the perfect time to explore classic sci-fi books, to see what the masters have written, and maybe even see if someone predicted anything like this. Many, though, simply ignore sci-fi wholly and completely because of an association with robots, aliens, and the like.

Long story short, if you think you don't like sci-fi, you have never read great books from the genre. But indeed, many such books abound, including a number that has delighted generations of readers going back well over 150 years. In fact, one of the best things about so many sci-fi books is their very timelessness. As by definition, this type of fiction breaks away from the norms of the everyday world -- whether slightly twisting things or taking place on entire other worlds -- the stories often feel as fresh and relevant today as when they were published decades ago.

Read more
The 7 best classic fantasy books to get lost in
Even adults can enjoy entering the fantasy world
Man reading a book

Using the term "fantasy" when it comes to fiction, we are admittedly casting a pretty wide net. After all, think about just how many shows and movies could technically be considered fantasy, too. If. we're talking about classic, canonical fantasy, though, the net shrinks considerably. If a book is to stand the test of time to be considered a classic -- regardless of genre -- it has to be damn good. At the risk of offending plenty of authors and fantasy fans both of yesteryear and today, most fantasy writing ... how should I put this? In a few decades, it won't be on some future writer's list of fantasy classics.

I say all that as an absolute fan of fantasy writing. From the Game of Thrones books, our era's Lord of the Rings, to the novels of Neil Gaiman, to the Twilight series (except not that), there is a plethora of great fantasy writing being produced today. But if you're looking to get into the genre or are already an aficionado with a few gaps in your reading list, classic fantasy novels are always a fine choice, as are classic mysteries, classic adventure books, and on it goes across every genre of literature.

Read more