features in: Album Chart of 1980 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1980s ● 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die  |
The second long-player from the 4-year-old Cambridge band arrived in June ’80, at which time they lined up: Robyn Hitchcock (27, guitar, vocals); Kimberley Rew (28, guitar); Matthew Seligman (bass) and Morris Windsor (drums). Their brand of cerebral pop incorporated elements of folk rock, psychedelia and proto-punk, with results which were extremely pleasing to the ear. There’s a good-time jangle on the surface, paradoxically offset with darkly humorous lyrical themes of sex, death, hideous creatures and general paranoia. Amongst the many highlights are the fantastic solid-backbeat opener “I Wanna Destroy You” and “Insanely Jealous” which has me proclaiming “I can’t believe it’s not Howard Devoto”. As does “Old Pervert” on side two, a real low-down dirty blues rocker about a proper wrong ‘un who may well be deranged. I dread to think what might be in his fridge. If that’s a bit Ian Brady, it’s a case of out of the darkness into the light as the glorious “Queen Of Eyes” transports you firmly back into a brighter mid-60s world inhabited by The Monkees, The Hollies, The Byrds et al. There’s never a dull moment on this album.
The Jukebox Rebel
03–Dec–2016
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [02:52]  The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You (Robyn Hitchcock) Proto-Punk |
| A2 | [04:10]  The Soft Boys - Kingdom Of Love (Robyn Hitchcock) Proto-Punk |
| A3 | [03:10]  The Soft Boys - Positive Vibrations (Robyn Hitchcock) Proto-Punk |
| A4 | [04:42]  The Soft Boys - I Got The Hots (Robyn Hitchcock) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| A5 | [04:15]  The Soft Boys - Insanely Jealous (Robyn Hitchcock) New Wave |
| B1 | [03:44]  The Soft Boys - Tonight (Robyn Hitchcock) New Wave |
| B2 | [02:57]  The Soft Boys - You’ll Have To Go Sideways (Robyn Hitchcock, Kimberley Rew) New Wave |
| B3 | [03:52]  The Soft Boys - Old Pervert (Robyn Hitchcock, Kimberley Rew, Matthew Seligman, Morris Windsor) Post-Punk |
| B4 | [02:01]  The Soft Boys - Queen Of Eyes (Robyn Hitchcock) Cerebral Pop |
| B5 | [04:17]  The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight (Robyn Hitchcock) New Wave |
