The Soft Boys – Underwater Moonlight (45th Anniversary, Remastered Edition)

Underwater Moonlight, released in June 1980 on Armageddon, stands as the defining statement of The Soft Boys, threading neo-psychedelia, jangly guitar pop, and surreal lyricism through a post-punk sensibility. Robyn Hitchcock’s singular voice and poetic eccentricity anchor a band whose playing alternates between delicate melodic clarity and jagged avant impulses. Tracks such as “I Wanna Destroy You” and “Kingdom of Love” combine immediate hooks with unsettling imagery, while subtler moments like “Queen of Eyes” and the title track offer expansive, dream-tinged textures. Recorded on a shoestring budget yet imbued with urgency, the album’s dynamics capture a band sprawling between hidden beauty and chaotic edge.

Though it met little commercial success on release, Underwater Moonlight's reputation has grown steadily, often cited as a keystone in the emergence of college rock and alternative jangle pop. Its influence is regularly acknowledged in the lineage of bands like R.E.M., Yo La Tengo, and Pavement, testament to its hybrid roots in 60s pop, post-punk, and psychedelia. The album endures both as a deeply personal vision and as a kind of secret touchstone—its off-kilter composition and vibrant tension still invite discovery, argument, and renewed appreciation in the decades since its release.

"It updates jangling, melodic guitar pop for the post-punk world, which made it a touchstone for much of the underground pop of the mid-'80s" – AllMusic

“Underwater Moonlight taps into all the icky, oozing rage and fear … the Soft Boys ran through tracks like ‘I Wanna Destroy You’ at breakneck pace, all the while dishing up Byrdsy harmonies and jangling guitars.” – Pitchfork

“A glorious anomaly shaped by the mercurial genius of Robyn Hitchcock … the joy-spiked melodies, elegant wit and psychological depth are abundantly rewarding.” – NME

“Its rough, blunt, rehearsal-studio feel … is one reason why it now sounds so good; Hitchcock’s songs delve into the erotic unconscious with wit, imagination, and something so close to genius.” – The Quietus