Nextdoorland

The Soft Boys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B00006FRUM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,670 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I Love Lucy

2. Pulse Of My Heart

3. Mr. Kennedy

4. Unprotected Love

5. My Mind Is Connected To Your Dreams

6. Sudden Town

7. Strings

8. Japanese Captain

9. La Cheriti

10. Lions And Tigers

Editorial Reviews

Their first album in 20 years from Robyn Hitchcock's Soft Boys, featuring the classic lineup of the great Kimberley Rew on guitar, Matthew Seligman on bass and Morris Windsor on drums. Matador. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guaranteed to raise the hairs on your skin, October 18, 2002

By 

JG "wordmule" (...onward....thru the fog!) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Nextdoorland (Audio CD)

It's a Soft Boys album, but it sounds like the evolution of Robyn Hitchcock to me. He's been quoted as saying "when I make a record with a band, it turns out to be a Beatles record". I'd agree with that, but Beatles at their jammingest.

The twin lead guitar interplay between Robyn and Kimberly Rew is nothing short of breathtaking. The lyrics are signature Robyn Hitchcock surreal, but at one point, he eerily captures the strange and scary times we live in: "Evil is the new enemy / I wish I could say that I was just paranoid" (from "Strings").

The beauty of this CD is that Hitchcock and his band gracefully manages to walk the thin line between melodic pop and total, over the edge, into the abyss guitar freakout.

All in all, an excellent album, which will definitely stand the test of time.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Underwater Moonlight it's not..., September 26, 2002

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nextdoorland (Audio CD)

The years have been kind to Robyn Hitchcock. His early music with The Soft Boys sounds as fresh, vital and quirky as when it was first released over two decades ago. This reunion album made me a bit skeptical at first. You may not be able to go home again, but you can go next door and visit with the neighbors.

Nextdoorland is full of the rocking charms we've come to expect from Hitchcock. What's more is that the performances by his band The Soft Boys is top notch. Kimberly Rew's guitar snarls and snaps alternating chords thick as a tree stump. His playing hasn't been this refreshing or challenging since his solo albums and early Katrina & The Waves where it was a lot more polished and, well, poppy. Poppy is OK but Rew has always been an interesting guitar player and capable of so much more. Hitchcock and the other Soft Boys bring out the best in him.

The album is littered with a number of gems. Like a lot of Hitchcock solo albums, there's a fair amount of filler as well but the quality of the filler tracks is better than most artist's achieve in a lifetime. Always interesting as a solo artist, Hitchcock and The Soft Boys return with a strong album. It isn't Underwater Moonlight, nor is it meant to be. The starkness of that seminal album and the diy feel is evident in every track on Nowhereland.

I'd also recommend picking up Kimberly Rew's latest solo album. Although it isn't as strong or compelling as Tunnel Into Summer, it's stocked with melodic, riff driven rock 'n' roll. Rew hasn't sounded this good in years and clearly his new found solo career has invigorated him.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe it'll rain tonight, May 13, 2003

By 

Garry Messick (Boynton Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nextdoorland (Audio CD)

Some might be disapointed that the Soft Boys' first album in 20 years isn't Underwater Moonlight jr. But to my ears, Nextdoorland is actually superior in some respects. For one thing, the band is playing better than ever. (Several tracks feature some terrific extended dual guitar interplay between Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberly Rew that's a bit reminiscent of Television, oddly enough.) There's real verve and energy in the sound and performances, and the songwriting is consistently engaging, featuring structures that never go where you think they will (a chorus comes in where you'd expect another verse, parts flow into parts without coming to a conventional chorus, songs that end in abrupt, unexpected eays, etc.). All in all, a triumphant return for Hitchcock and company.