from ARTVOICE October 3-9, 2002

The Soft Boys NEXTDOORLAND (Matador) Ever have one of those dreams where you were listening to an album that couldn’t have possibly been recorded? I once had a dream that I found an album by Arthur Lee and Love where they interpreted the works of Bob Dylan from 1966 to 1970 (it was a brilliant record and when I awoke I had an incredibly empty feeling knowing that I would never hear that record again). This is one of those albums that fans have been dreaming about for years (twenty years to be exact). As a result, it can’t possibly live up to its inflated expectations we’ve all created. But NEXTDOORLAND does manage to prove that The Soft Boys’ unique combination of psychedelia, doo-wop and rock n’ roll was not a fluke. First of all, you’ve got the voice and songwriting of Robyn Hitchcock. Hitchcock’s style is as distinct as that of the director that shares his namesake and is frequently as pleasantly disturbing. The combination of Hitchcock’s voice with that of guitarist Kimberly Rew and drummer Morris Windsor, along with the spindling guitar play between Rew and Robyn, gives this album the “classic Soft Boys sound” that fans salivate over. Yet Hitchcock’s songwriting sounds slightly too aware of itself, like he’s trying to write like Robyn Hitchcock, and there are no songs containing the immediacy of tunes like “I Wanna Destroy You”, “Tonight” or “Insanely Jealous.” However, these are relatively minor quibbles. NEXTDOORLAND is hardly a blight on the Soft Boys legacy, like so many “reunion albums” are, and will certainly not disappoint the group’s fans after repeated listenings. I guess that’s all part of the dream analogy. I mean, how often do you actually get to hear that record you’ve imagined late at night? When you actually get to hear, what do you have to compare it to? In the case of the Soft Boys, hopefully that dream sound will continue for at least a few more albums. —Mark Norris