Robyn Hitchcock is a songwriter who has spent nearly five decades treating the surreal as ordinary and the ordinary as suspect.
He came up with The Soft Boys in Cambridge in the late seventies, out of step with punk and closer to The Doors and Syd Barrett than anything happening around them. Underwater Moonlight went nowhere at the time but became one of the most influential records of its era. He has been prolific ever since, solo and with the Egyptians and the Venus 3, writing about insects, weather, death, and the small absurdities of life with a sharp eye and wit.
The Confuser arrives July 24 on Tiny Ghost Records, his 25th studio album and first collection of all-new songs in close to four years. He recorded it in Nashville with Brad Jones and Jordan Lehning, backed by session players including guitarist Jeremy Fetzer, bassist Todd Bolden, and drummer Eric Slick. Kimberley Rew, his co-founder in The Soft Boys, plays on four tracks. Gillian Welch sings on “Ghost in Sunlight.” Johnny Marr heard the single “How To Feel Alright” and called it Bo Syddley, which is about right.
Robyn kicks off an extensive UK and EU tour in October including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Dates, records, books, ideas at robynhitchcock.com.
Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.
