Washington City Paper
March, 2001
The Soft Boys
The Soft Boys finally have an album out -- it's called Underwater Moonlight. Most of it was originally released in 1980 and has been out of print more times than it should. But it's back in stores, thanks to the good geeks at Matador. And now, Robyn Hitchcock & Co. are touring behind the candy-coated, harmony-loaded mind-bender. The record purrs and spits from a still-fresh place where midnight love songs and Beach Boys bong hits can just chill out. I called Hitch looking to justify our loyalty to a nearly 21-year-old record. Why the reunion tour now? "Young men and women hunt in packs, but once you get in your 30s, it gets suspicious for guys to hang out together. Definitely over 40, it's extremely suspicious. I guess over 50, it should be illegal." What is Underwater Moonlight? "It's ,sort of, Rock music in a way. It's the way music could have gone but didn't. We are The Beatles from a parallel world." What should we expect? "It's middle-aged guys playing obsolete music." Favorite jokes? "I never tell jokes. I just am one." Favorite drugs? "I always preferred alcohol. Oh god, a good Australian chardonnay would usually do me all right." Why does "I Wanna Destroy You" still rock? "Man's self-destructive nature has not changed." Best song? "'Insanely Jealous'. It's the most intense and hardest to perform. It's got a lot of words in it. I tend to run out of breath. You'll notice we're not playing in Colorado."
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