STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK

"The content of Robyn's songs are exceptionally visual. He makes movies in our minds with his lyrics."
-Director Jonathan Demme

Excerpted from a review in Variety by Dennis Harvey:
The eccentric appeal of Brit singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock gets a nice permanent showcase in Jonathan Demme's third performance-record feature.

Never much noticed at home-despite or because of his very English Lewis Carroll-meets-Monty Python sensibility-Hitchcock first won U.S. cult attention as part of the Cambridge-bred Soft Boys in the late '70s. Going solo with the backup Egyptians unit, he was a U.S. modern-rock radio staple through the late '80s.

As a lyricist, Hitchcock is Carroll-meets-Python via Dali, spinning out surreal, often humorous juxtapositions. As a melodist, he's indebted to the breadth of a U.K. Oddjob Rock Troubadour tradition stretching from novelty-pop Herman's Hermits to ex-Pink Floyd nutty experimenter Syd Barrett and wispy romantics like Nick Drake. A healthy dose of plain old chimey folk-rock is thrown in for good measure.

Hitchcock's best forum has long been live performance, where his nasal yet rich, supple voice shines, and his seemingly impromptu between-song patter suggests a pleasing form of mild insanity.

A lanky, handsome, slightly graying 40-ish figure wearing successive loud shirts, Hitchcock switches from acoustic to electric guitar at midpoint: violinist Deni Bonet joins up for two numbers, guitarist-vocalist Tim Keegan for one. His best, most enduring work is represented by such simple and spectrally beautiful tunes as "Airscape" and "Glass Hotel."

HITCHCOCK ON THE INTERNET:
The House of Iggy Hitchcock Page - http://web.syr.edu/~jojones/hitchcock.html
The ARChive Website - http://www.arcmusic.org
The Internet Movie Database's STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK Data Page