Yep Roc

Celebrating his 60th birthday this year, Robyn Hitchcock has been around long enough to do everything twice. His mutant psychedelia has always included power-pop, acoustic folk, brazen Dadaist poetry and serious environmental and political concerns. As the world spins in a variety of questionable directions – global warming, economic disparity – Hitchcock eyeballs the apocalypse with his usual arsenal of grim-soaked melodies and porcelain harmonies. He virtually invented the modern jangle. The album’s producer Paul Noble handles bass, guitar and keyboards. Jenny Adejayan provides the all-important cello and an army of female backing vocals smooth over the painful realities of “Death And Love” and “End Of Time.” If he didn’t have the company, then he’d go mad.