I Often Dream of Trains

I can easily imagine a devilish grin on Robyn Hitchcock’s face when he did the song-sequencing for his I Often Dream of Trains. A stark and autumnal nocturne opens the album, preparing you for a bit of shoe-gazing, only to jolt back into classic Hitchcockian surrealism with the self-pleasuring fantasy “Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl.” But then we have a minor key meditation on the mysteries of consciousness and love (“Cathedral”). The record more or less goes on like this until a nocturne fade-out. This slightly schizophrenic back and forth might call into question the conceit of wholeness implicit in those bookending nocturnes, but even if that is true, it wouldn’t diminish the album for an instant. From the bizarro Barber Shop Quartet lesson in parenting (and personal favorite) “Uncorrected Personality Traits” to the twisted sing-a-long “Ye Sleeping Nights of Jesus” to the, yes, haunting “Trams of Old London” and (instrumental) “Heart Full Of Leaves” I Often Dream of Trains is full of brilliant songwriting.

Robyn Hitchcock - Uncorrected Personality Traits [buy]
Robyn Hitchcock - Trams of Old London