It’s a relief not to be reviewing Robyn Hitchcock’s latest studio album … the trouble with artists of this calibre is you end up dusting off their old records in the vain hope you can tip their latest offering with some half-decent appraisal of their work as an artist … happily he made it easy for me this time, the songs for Propellor Time are culled from 6 days of home recordings back in 2006, with Hitchcock’s latest musical incarnation ‘The Venus 3′ (‘3′ parts of ‘The Minus 5′, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) gestating into a band and finding their touring legs before taking off across indie-land America. The sessions eventually spawned material for the combo’s debut Ole Tarantulalater that year and also formed part of Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death… and Insects, John Edginton’s excellent documentary filmed for BBC Four. But with plenty of good music left over and guest appearances by many rock luminaries, Propellor Time is still soaking up the creative seepage of that week. “We wanted to create a sprawling record like The Basement Tapes: so we sprawled for a week and then spent 3 years editing it”.

Hitchcock’s recognition as an artist is assured with his early work in psychedelic-punk band The Soft Boys and subsequent solo career, but he’s often overlooked because of the ‘weird’ tag. In essence, the music is pop, in the best sense of the word. Sure, quirky lyrics are populated with odd creatures and exotic foods, and subject matter reduced by some to sex, food, death … and insects, the so-called “corridors of life” (I’ll let him explain that one!). But the half-spoken surrealist lyrics about iguanas, butterflies, magnolias and giant leaves on Propellor’s ‘Afterlight’ are just a nice way into a strong musical hook which really catches the feeling of the song. Skeletons embrace and fossils hang from trees in classy opener ‘Star of Venus’, but the song charmingly mixes existential themes with delicious Byrds/REM-like jangly guitar harmonies, Memphis beat, honeyed vocal harmonies, even crickets chirping to fade … have I convinced you yet?

Few would argue whether this guy can carry a tune, there’s usually 5 or 6 good ones on each album. Propellor Time is no exception, beautiful in its simplicity, songs which were more or less fully-formed in Hitchcock’s living room are played like a gig in the most intimate club venue. Credit must go to the band who have extended the the artist’s oeuvre in new directions and brought the best out of his melodies. ‘Luckiness’ is Dylanesque acoustic country, ‘Primitive’ a gravelly country drawl, ‘John in the Air’ could be Andy Partridge and XTC, while ‘Evolve’ evokes John Lennon circa ‘Double Fantasy’ (work that one out???). And album closer ‘Born on the Wind’ sounds curiously like Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet home Alabama’ (mandolin courtesy of Led Zep’s John Paul Jones). My personal favourite, ‘Sickie Boy’, combines absurdist lyrics and an inanely catchy chorus … that I really must stop singing in the shower.

Worthy additions to material on the film include the title track and ‘Ordinary Day’, the former very Beatlesy, co-written with Peter Buck, guitarist from another band whose name escapes me … ‘Ordinary Millionaire’ is a bit too polished and out of place here. It’s a collaboration with Johnny Marr, of all people, and a sideswipe at millionaires pretending to be ordinary people, surely not the Duran’s ‘Ordinary Life’?

The Venus 3 albums Ole Tarantula and Goodnight Oslo were generally well received, with a sting-in-the-tail (sorry!) that all this stylistic jumping may be upsetting the quality control button. Hang on, aren’t we missing the point here? Nothing seems off-limits in Hitchcock’s world, he’d probably write the kitchen sink into a song if he could find a suitable plumber … No, Propellor Time marks a genuine return to form. Robyn Hitchcock has found his voice again and wants to be heard, warts’n’all. Getting to the bottom of this artist’s modus operandi is as tricky as appraising the great shambling beast his music has become, but the film reveals an artist being respun and Propellor Time is its natural musical companion. I think I’m ready for the next flight … watch this space!

The Minus 5‘s eighth album? Well, it’s like REM meets The Decemberists. Literally. The Minus 5 is the plaything of Scott McCaughey, also leader of oddball Seattle power-popsters the Young Fresh Fellows, part of Robyn Hitchcock’s backup The Venus 3, and for the last decade and a half live second guitarist and general studio sideman to REM. Around the time he joined that band he formed this one with Peter Buck. Having worked with members of Wilco and the Posies on previous Minus 5 records, this time around McCaughey and Buck hired drummer John Moen, who brought along his Decemberists bandmates to fill out various roles. Clear?
With the shifting personnel comes a shifting sightline towards genre. Their last album, 2006′s technically eponymous record but referred to by everyone as The Gun Album, was Beach Boys and Beatles flavoured; 2004′s In Rock fuzzy, light headed and light hearted power-pop; 2003′s almost self-explanatory Down With Wilco invoked the lush collages of McCaughey’s collaborators’ Summerteeth. This time around the sound suggests classic Dylan, in the arrangements and acoustic tone, being led into country’s pedal steel, organ and a female backing vocal troupe.

It’s interesting that, for a band with heavy Wilco connections, it comes out in the shadow of a new Wilco album that often retreats to the softer, safer option, because a lot of Killingsworth does nothing so much as recall others who have recently taken alternative routes around Americana. The preponderance of backing vocals against country twang suggests Jenny Lewis’ work with the Watson Twins, the clean arrangements Emmylou Harris or Gram Parsons. The lyrical wit is however McCaughey’s own. ‘Dark Hand Of Contagion’ remarks upon a wedding that was “well planned, like a German invasion”, while the banjo and accordion laced ‘The Lurking Barrister’ is about what the title says it’s about. ‘Scott Walker’s Fault’ drags in Colin Meloy, whose vocal on ‘Cemetary Row’ was the highlight of The Gun Album, here duetting with the girls to reduced effect.

Meloy’s reappearance in fact shows up the big problem with Killingsworth. Whenever the Decemberists have headed into folk-country waters they’ve made it count, either through a kaleidoscopic arrangement or the forcefulness of the lyrics. McCaughey is more of a wittily charming but still more straight up observational writer, and as such while there’s little strictly at fault with the album there’s also little that will stick with the listener or make that much of an impression. In the background on a warm summer’s day its melodic enchanting catchiness is sufficiently diverting. As a proper listening experience it falls flat, with too little room allowed for diversion – the fairground organ on ‘Your Favourite Mess’ is about as varied as the countrified formula gets. A decent album, but on past evidence McCaughey and latest compadres are capable of so much more than stylistic exercise.
61%

The Minus 5 on Myspace

The Minus 5, led by underground icon Scott McCaughey, will be releasing a new album Killingsworth on Monday 6th July 2009.

Killingsworth is an aptly named thoroughfare that borders northeast Portland’s “Alberta Arts District”, where the tracks were primarily conceived and executed. If you have any questions or comments about the music itself, Mr. McCaughey would be glad to elucidate all over you, to the best of his ability, which varies according to the situation.

Killingsworth is available on CD and as digital download, full track listing as follows :

1. Dark Hand of Contagion
2. The Long Hall
3. The Disembowlers
4. The Lurking Barrister
5. It Won’t Do You Any Good
6. Vintage Violet
7. Scott Walker’s Fault
8. Big Beat Up Moon
9. I Would Rather Sacrifice You
10.Ambulance Dancehall
11.Gash In The Cocoon
12.Smoke On, Jerry
13.Your Favourite Mess
14.Tonight You’re Buying Me A Drink Bub