The Long Island Voice
September 22, 1999
Robyn Hitchcock
Jewels For Sophia
Warner Bros.
by David Gil de Rubio
Continuing down the quirky, Folk Pop path he helped pioneer, Robyn Hitchcock triumphs on his latest album by using a different group of backup musicians for the first time since 1981's Black Snake Diamond Role. The lineup varies from track to track, including Grant-Lee Phillips, Peter Buck, the Young Fresh Fellows and ex-Soft Boys bandmate Kimberley Rew. With their help, Hitchcock has put together a record with his usual share of oddities, including a stirring number about mutant dream girls ("Antwoman"). Idiosyncrasies aside, the bulk of the album shows this British cult hero to be a true romantic -- a quality that won't surprise his longtime fans. Songs such as the lilting ballad "You've Got
A Sweet Mouth On You, Baby" and the mid-tempo "Dark Princess" are Hitchcock at his most endearing. Throw in a number of rollicking rockers and a punchy ode to Seattle ("Viva Sea-Tac") and you have perfectly twisted Pop.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE