Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Hitchcock [5th Anniversary]

Forty years into one of British rock's most singular careers, Robyn Hitchcock named an album after himself for the first time, and it turned out to be among the most vital records he has ever made. Released in April 2017 on Yep Roc, the self-titled 21st studio album found Hitchcock sounding, as he described it himself, renewed and irascibly rambunctious, his sci-fi-fueled psychedelic vision ribboned now with four decades of hard-earned experience and a sharpness that only deepens with age.

The Nashville setting produced an unexpected chemistry. Recorded at Readymade Studios with Raconteurs co-founder Brendan Benson producing, backed by guitarist Annie McCue, bassist Jon Estes, and drummer Jon Radford, the album has a warmth and muscularity that suits the songs perfectly without softening any of their eccentric edges. Harmony vocals from Gillian Welch, Grant Lee Phillips, Wilco's Pat Sansone, and Emma Swift add depth and color throughout. The ten tracks span classic neo-psychedelia in "Mad Shelley's Letterbox" and "Detective Mindhorn," a jangly talk-singing opener in "I Want to Tell You About What I Want," a gently pedal-steel-inflected meditation in "1970 In Aspic," and a closing piece in "Time Coast" that lingers long after the needle lifts. Critics called it easily his most vibrant collection of new music since the early 1990s, a perfect summation of the artist.

This 5th anniversary edition is pressed on neon green vinyl, a fitting color for one of rock's most enduringly singular and stubbornly alive imaginations.