CD Reviews

Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3

Ole! Tarantula | Yep Roc

By BRETT MILANO | October 30, 2006

3.5 Stars

The wonder of Robyn Hitchcock isn’t so much that he can write a line like “Fuck me baby, I’m a trolley bus” as that he can use it in a way that makes emotional sense. Save for 2002’s reunion disc with the Soft Boys, this is the first fully electric rock album he’s made in a good 15 years, and it’s as warm and melodic as the Soft Boys’ Nextdoorland was brittle and jagged. Which isn’t to say that some of his old band’s aggression doesn’t slip in: the above line appears in “The Authority Box,” which replaces the youthful pissed-off smarts of the Underwater Moonlight era with grown-up, pissed-off smarts. But this is largely a shift away from the haunted tone of Hitchcock’s last few acoustic albums, with the band of Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, and Bill Rieflin (all currently part of R.E.M.). Instead, Hitchcock adds a heavy dose of sonic shimmer and unabashed classic-pop allusions. They get proudly Beatle-esque on “Underground Sun,” proudly Dylanesque on the title track, proudly XTC-esque on “Cause It’s Love (Saint Parallelogram)” (written with XTC’s Andy Partridge), and proudly emotive on “NY Doll,” a glitter-ballad homage to the Dolls’ late bassist, Arthur “Killer” Kane. And though some of the usual reptiles and insects sneak into the lyrics, Hitchcock shows his heart more often than not. Not everyone can deliver a line like “Music is the antidote to a world of pain and sorrow” and make you believe it.

Related: Reality bites, The Big Hurt: This week in free stuff, Robyn Hitchcock, More

Topics: CD Reviews , The Beatles, R.E.M., Transportation, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY BRETT MILANO

REVIEW: DON'T STOP BELIEVIN': EVERYMAN'S JOURNEY | March 04, 2013
There's no sex or drugs, just a lot of professionalism.

WALTER SICKERT LEADS A BAND OF MUSICAL MISFITS | February 05, 2011
When Walter Sickert and his Army of Broken Toys played an official First Night show at the Hynes Auditorium on New Year's Eve, they ran overtime and the soundman pulled the plug — which isn't quite the smartest way of shutting down an acoustic band.

GUIDED BY VOICES RETURN WITH SELF-INFLICTED NOSTALGIA | November 07, 2010
When Guided by Voices announced their reunion tour this year, it marked a milestone of sorts for the Dayton band. This is arguably the first conventional career move they've ever made.

DANDO AND HATFIELD REKINDLE A MUSICAL COURTSHIP | November 01, 2010
Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield were never a serious couple, and they never played music together for very long.

REVIEW: ROCK OF AGES | October 12, 2010
At the start of the hair-metal musical Rock of Ages (at the Colonial Theatre through October 17), narrator Lonny (Patrick Lewallen) promises a night of sexy decadence and general kick-assery.