USA Today
March 28, 2001
Underwater Moonlight
by Steve Jones
The Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight (***) came out in England in mid-1980, creating minimal stir and straggling into an apathetic USA through imports. It's still a mystery why, unless you believe in a conspiracy theory that a flood of bad music inevitably drives good music deep into the underground.
The first few notes of opener "I Wanna Destroy You" announce you're in the presence of a classic, a declaration confirmed by its thrilling chorus and a successive profusion of electrifying guitar rockers (notably "Tonight", "Kingdom Of Love", and the Byrds-y "Queen Of Eyes") framing an eloquent verbal gush that touches on amorous insects, eloping statues, and jealousy taken to extremes. In one perverse verse, the romantic protagonist in "I Got The Hots" entices his target by asking, "Would you care for a lump of steak/Or a piece of hake/Or another take?". How could she resist?
Hitchcock's vocals -- which at times recall John Lennon, Lou Reed, and Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett -- sneer evocatively throughout an album that will delight word- and guitar-lovers both.
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