Ole Tarantula

Robyn Hitchcock And The Venus 3

(Yep Rock)

As much as pop music is dominated by the obsessions and style of the youth of today there is something attractive about witnessing a mature performer practice the skill of popular song. Like an old guy clad in weather beaten flannels and terry towelling hat and a brandishing a 1970s Stuart Surridge bat dispatching a barrage of over-enthusiastic young fast bowlers in a game of turf cricket, song-writers who’ve been around the traps can create great pop songs with a degree of confidence that only comes with experience (unless of course they’ve devolved into boring old farts bemoaning every artistic development since Dylan went electric).

Robyn Hitchcock has been around the block a few times in his career, initially with his band The Soft Boys, then with his backing band The Egyptians, and as a solo performer (with some celluloid exposure along the way). Despite having a discography that borders on the copious, Hitchcock falls into the category of ‘cult artist’ – where ‘cult’ is a polite euphemism that disguises a lack of commercial and popular success. But no one’s ever claimed pop music was a just pursuit.

Olé Tarantula sees Hitchcock teaming up with the Venus 3 – a casual band of supporting artists including Peter Buck and Bill Rieflin from REM (REM being one of the first bands to pay tribute to the Soft Boys’ influence) and Scott McCaughey from Rieflin’s ‘other’ band The Minus Five. This is pop music written and performed by a master of the craft. Adventure Rocket Ship is melodic 60s inspired pop as fresh as Syd Barrett’s fertile imagination before it was fried into submission, Belltown Ramble provides a stable bridge between folk and pop and Olé Tarantula is a wistful and satisfying stroll across the most inspiring of musical plains. Hitchcock’s love of late era Beatles is there for all to hear in ‘Cause It’s Love (Saint Parallelogram) and The Authority Box while NY Doll pays tribute to the late Arthur Kane.

But to understand why Robyn Hitchcock is as relevant today as he ever was, just hear the horn-fuelled reprise in Museum of Sex, sparked by Hitchcock’s adolescent call of “let’s hear that riff again”. It’s a riff well worth hearing again – and Olé Tarantula shows Hitchcock’s got plenty more to give the world.

PATRICK EMERY