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Avg: 4.0 (111 ratings)
- Date Released: February 17, 2009
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Alternative, Rock
- Label: Yep Roc Records / Redeye
Disenchanted and enchanting, pitch-black and sparkling — in other words, vintage Hitchcock
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We Say...
Robyn Hitchcock has written love songs and drug songs, creepy songs and disenchanted songs, but "TLC" is his first creepy, druggy, disenchanted love song. Composed for an unfinished biopic about Beatles manager Brian Epstein, "TLC" explores the unfortunate similarities between romance and pharmacological imbalance. "I feel on top of the world/And you're my opposite girl," Hitchcock drawls against a woozy, '50s slow-dance melody that lurches like a drunk on a precarious reel toward the floor. By the time he reaches the chorus, he's lost track of the source of his euphoria: "Tryptisol, librium, carbitol," he recounts, naming antidepressants that were implicated in the deaths of Epstein and Nick Drake.
"TLC" is just one of the many semi-disturbing moments on Goodnight Oslo, a sequel of sorts to Hitchcock's 2006 career rejuvenator, Ole Tarantula. Recorded with the same psychedelic-folk all-stars — Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, Minus 5) and Bill Rieflin (Ministry, R.E.M.) — Goodnight Oslo nevertheless works a very different tone; where Tarantula seemed an ecstatic affirmation of life and the natural world, Oslo wallows in ambiguity, telling unsettling stories about mistaken paths and the uncontrollable recesses of the psyche. "What You Is" absolves sinners of even their most egregious sins, slinking along on a horn-accented Memphis beat. "Saturday Groovers" finds a batch of aging '60s garage-pop fanatics refusing to act their age despite afflictions of "emphysema, heart disease and gout." "Hurry for the Sky" measures the perils of overachievement against an incongruous spaghetti-western backdrop. Oslo is brilliantly crafted and played, but by the end you'll be ready to gobble a fistful of uppers. -
They Say...
After making records for three decades, Robyn Hitchcock has largely lost the ability to surprise listeners, which isn't in itself a bad thing -- the consistent strength of his work had led the average fan to expect a handful of good to great songs and lively, compelling performances whenever Hitchcock releases a new album, and with very rare exceptions he hasn't let fans down yet, even if he doesn't deliver an Underwater Moonlight or I Often Dream of Trains or Element of Light each time he heads into the studio. Released in 2009, Goodnight Oslo isn't going to force listeners to reassess their opinions about Robyn Hitchcock at this stage of the game, but it's also an album that shows the man is still in firm command of his abilities, and in many respects it's as consistently pleasurable as anything Hitchcock has released since the mid-'90s. Like 2006's Olé! Tarantula, a large share of the credit for Goodnight Oslo's effectiveness is the contribution of Hitchcock's backing band, the Venus 3 -- Peter Buck on guitar, Scott McCaughey on bass, and Bill Rieflin on drums. While this is only the second studio album the three have made with Hitchcock, they've worked with one another long enough to have the feel and unspoken communication of a real band rather than a handful of sidemen, and along with being excellent musicians, they bring out the best in Hitchcock, filling out his melodies with taste and enthusiastic energy while helping him bring some different flavors to these sessions, like the Memphis-style R&B undertow of "What You Is," the acoustic country shuffle of "Hurry for the Sky," and the slinky, off-kilter romance of "TLC," along with Hitchcock's traditional angular guitar-centered pop. On Goodnight Oslo, Hitchcock has eased back a bit on the lysergic surrealism that was long his trademark, instead aiming for an air of sensuous menace that suits this music very well indeed, though "Intricate Thing" and "Saturday Groovers" show his eye for the offbeat is as sharp as ever. Goodnight Oslo is good enough and engaged enough that you can hardly believe Robyn Hitchcock has been making records like this since 1979 -- and who knows, maybe he can keep making albums this entertaining for another two or three decades.
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| 01. |  |
What You Is |
3:25 |
|
| 02. | |
Your Head Here |
3:48 |
|
| 03. | |
Saturday Groovers |
2:47 |
|
| 04. | |
I'm Falling |
4:34 |
|
| 05. | |
Hurry for the Sky |
3:11 |
|
| 06. | |
Sixteen Years |
4:23 |
|
| 07. | |
Up To Our Nex |
3:46 |
|
| 08. | |
Intricate Thing |
3:30 |
|
| 09. | |
TLC |
3:46 |
|
| 10. | |
Goodnight Oslo |
6:01 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 39:11 Total Length
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Credits
- Robyn Hitchcock - Guitar // Robyn Hitchcock - Harmonica // Robyn Hitchcock - Keyboards // Robyn Hitchcock - Vocals // Robyn Hitchcock - Harmony Vocals // Robyn Hitchcock - Art Direction // Robyn Hitchcock - Photography // Robyn Hitchcock - Harmony // Scott McCaughey - Guitar (Bass) // Scott McCaughey - Vocals // Scott McCaughey - Harmony Vocals // Scott McCaughey - Harmony // Kurt Bloch - Engineer // Peter Buck - Guitar // Bill Rieflin - Drums // Bill Rieflin - Vocals // Bill Rieflin - Harmony Vocals // Bill Rieflin - Harmony // Morris Windsor - Vocals // Morris Windsor - Harmony Vocals // Morris Windsor - Harmony // Howard Thompson - A&R // Craig Schumacher - Engineer // Jessica Corcoran - Overdub Engineer // Chris Schultz - Engineer // Donal Whelan - Mastering // Nick Luca - Engineer // Kurt Block - Engineer // Charlie Francis - Engineer // Charlie Francis - Overdubs // Charlie Francis - Mixing // Charlie Francis - Overdub Engineer // Colin Meloy - Vocals // Colin Meloy - Harmony Vocals // Colin Meloy - Harmony // Michele Noach - Art Direction // Michele Noach - Photography // Michele Noach - Adaptation // Michele Noach - Cover Art // Michele Noach - Cover Photo // Jenny Adejayan - Cello // Michael Trepagnier - Engineer // Lianne Francis - Vocals // Lianne Francis - Vocals (Background) // Lianne Francis - Harmony Vocals // Lianne Francis - Harmony // Amir ElSaffar - Trumpet // Amir ElSaffar - Santoor // Zafer Tawil - Violin // Zafer Tawil - Bongos // Zafer Tawil - Oud
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