Shadow Cat (Robyn Hitchcock) Review

Received this from Sartorial Records last Tuesday and it's taken some time to grow on me.

Three of the tracks I had previously heard including the Hendrix cover, The Wind Cries Mary and two of Robyn's songs which were on earlier albums, Statue With A Walkman and The Green Boy.

Surprisingly The Green B(h)oy isn't my favourite track on Shadow Cat. That honour goes to the third track, Love Affair, three minutes of aching melancholia (and no-one does it better than Hitchcock).

Two of the tracks (Because You're Over and Real Dot) have synthesised vocals which take a bit of getting used to, possible 1990s experimentation on our hero's part. Sartorial guru, Terry Edwards (formerly of The Higsons ?) plays horns on Never Have To See You Again and Manzarek/House Of The Rising Sun-like organ on the Hendrix cover.

The album is dedicated to Robyn and Michele's cat Figaro.aka Figgy and the record middles and ends with two feline-centred songs The Cat Walks Her Kind Of Line and the title track. The latter is a very clever song with Moris Tepper on lead guitar and Robyn's lyrics having you checking your ankles for coiling tails.


Lovely stuff.