Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians "Element Of Light" 1986****

Robyn Hitchcock had, in the 70s, led Cambridge's post punk/psychedelic Soft Boys. He subsequently made a lot of interesting and uncommercial records either solo or -as in this case- with his band The Egyptians. This specific album should by rights have been successful. His pop instincts are as sharpened as ever and psychedelic weirdness kept at bay. John Lennon and Syd Barrett seem to be his main sources of inspiration, other influences being Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, Byrds and The Doors. Opener "If You Were A Priest" is psych-punk with jangly guitars and vocal harmonies, as catchy as anything created by the same period R.E.M. "Winchester" is a dreamy psychedelic ballad while on "Somewhere Apart" Hitchcock sounds like John Lennon and on "Ted, Woody And Junior" like Bowie. "The President" is aimed at the U.S and Ronald Reagan and has biting lyrics: "The President is talking to us through a microphone/Like he's trying to pack his mother off/To an old people's home...He's the president of Europe and he's talking to the dead/They're the only ones who'll listen or believe a word he said". "Raymond Chandler Evening" is a very English melancholic song with nods to Dylan and Barrett. "Airscape" is the centerpiece of the album, an indie pop masterpiece that sounds at once anchored in the 60's and of its time. "Never Stop Bleeding" is also acid folk and "Lady Waters & The Hooded One" a dark song drawing inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and Pink Floyd. Overall an extremely well crafted album, this particular version of which is embellished by a number of interesting bonus tracks including psych ballads "Black Crow Knows" and "The Leopard", garage-punk "The Crawling" and "Tell Me About Your Drugs", rockabilly "Upside-Down Church Blues" and demos of "Bass" and "Lady Waters".

**** for If You Were A Priest, Winchester, Ted Woody And Junior, The President, Airscape, Lady Waters & The Hooded One (both versions), Tell Me About Your Drugs

*** for Somewhere Apart, Raymond Chandler Evening, Bass, Never Stop Bleeding, The Black Crow Knows, The Crawling, The Leopard, Upside-Down Church Blues, Neck

** for Sprinkling Dots, Into It, Bass (demo)