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After recording the material that would later comprise the bulk of Invisible Hits, the Soft Boys recorded their masterpiece, the shimmering neo-psychedelic Underwater Moonlight. Essentially, the band didn't change their style for the record -- they merely perfected it. The Soft Boys don't hide their influences -- whether its the ringing guitars of the Beatles and Byrds or the surreal humor of John Lennon and Syd Barrett -- but they assimilate them, resulting in a fresh, edgy take on '60s guitar pop. Robyn Hitchcock's subject matter tends to be more explicitly weird and absurdist than his influences, as titles like "I Wanna Destroy You," "Old Pervert," and "Queen of Eyes" indicate -- even "Kingdom of Love" equates romance to bugs crawling under your skin. But the lyrics aren't the only thing that are edgy -- the music is too. The Soft Boys play pop hooks as if they were punk rock. "I Wanna Destroy You" isn't overtly threatening like their post-punk contemporaries, but with its layered guitar hooks and dissonant harmonies, it is equally menacing. Furthermore, the group can twist its songs inside out and then revert them to their original form, as evidenced by "Insanely Jealous." Although the neo-psychedelic flourishes are fascinating, the key to record's success is how each song is constructed around rock-solid hooks and melodies that instantly work their way into the subconscious. In fact, that's the most notable thing about Underwater Moonlight -- it updates jangling, melodic guitar pop for the post-punk world, which made it a touchstone for much of the underground pop of the mid-'80s, particularly R.E.M.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Morris Windsor, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Syd Barrett, Composer - Essex Music International, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - Watteau Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - Watteau Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - EMI Virgin, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - EMI Virgin, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - EMI Virgin, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - EMI Virgin, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - Morris Windsor, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - Morris Windsor, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Lou Reed, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - Metal Machine Music Publishing (BMI), MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - Morris Windsor, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Morris Windsor, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Bryan Ferry, Composer - Phil Manzanera, Composer - Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc. (BMI), MusicPublisher - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Morris Windsor, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist - August 23rd Music / Bug Music, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Matthew Seligman, Composer - Kimberley Rew, Composer - Robyn Hitchcock, Composer - Complete Music, MusicPublisher - Morris Windsor, Composer - The Soft Boys, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
Album review
After recording the material that would later comprise the bulk of Invisible Hits, the Soft Boys recorded their masterpiece, the shimmering neo-psychedelic Underwater Moonlight. Essentially, the band didn't change their style for the record -- they merely perfected it. The Soft Boys don't hide their influences -- whether its the ringing guitars of the Beatles and Byrds or the surreal humor of John Lennon and Syd Barrett -- but they assimilate them, resulting in a fresh, edgy take on '60s guitar pop. Robyn Hitchcock's subject matter tends to be more explicitly weird and absurdist than his influences, as titles like "I Wanna Destroy You," "Old Pervert," and "Queen of Eyes" indicate -- even "Kingdom of Love" equates romance to bugs crawling under your skin. But the lyrics aren't the only thing that are edgy -- the music is too. The Soft Boys play pop hooks as if they were punk rock. "I Wanna Destroy You" isn't overtly threatening like their post-punk contemporaries, but with its layered guitar hooks and dissonant harmonies, it is equally menacing. Furthermore, the group can twist its songs inside out and then revert them to their original form, as evidenced by "Insanely Jealous." Although the neo-psychedelic flourishes are fascinating, the key to record's success is how each song is constructed around rock-solid hooks and melodies that instantly work their way into the subconscious. In fact, that's the most notable thing about Underwater Moonlight -- it updates jangling, melodic guitar pop for the post-punk world, which made it a touchstone for much of the underground pop of the mid-'80s, particularly R.E.M.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 40 track(s)
- Total length: 02:27:41
- Main artists: The Soft Boys
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: TINY GHOST RECORDS
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
(C) 2023 Tiny Ghost Records (P) 2001 2023 Tiny Ghost Records
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