LimeWire Music Blog

Pop maverick Robyn Hitchcock is back, as is his veritable supergroup The Venus 3. Featuring the talents of Peter Buck (REM), Scott McCaughey (Fine Fresh Fellows), and Bill Rieflin (Ministry), it’s a collective as idiosyncratic as the songwriter himself. But make no mistake: Goodnight Olso is Hitchcock’s show. Carrying on his 30-year tradition as the consummate working man’s psychedelic songwriter, the follow-up to the Venus 3’s 2001 debut, Ole! Tarantula, will come as welcome news to fans. To those unacquainted, this is as good a place to start as any. Hitchcock is shockingly consistent; and while this album lacks some of the clever acoustic sparseness of fan favorite I Often Dream of Trains, it offers not only thicker arrangements but an even wryer narrative perspective. “Sixteen years and all I got was high,” Hitchcock intones with a near-religious seriousness. From characteristic bleak folk to trippy rocker “What You Is,” he hits all the touchstones, sounding alternately like a blurry John Lennon and a lucid Syd Barrett. And while Hitchcock is never shy about his idols, it’s nice to see him referencing himself, and even sounding very Soft Boys.

Robyn Hitchock & The Venus 3’s Goodbye Oslo is available for purchase at the LimeWire Store.