Robyn Hitchcock’s latest work is a party with a little melancholy

Today on the World Cafe, we have a mini-concert with English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock. His latest album, Shufflemania!, features contributions from Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs, Johnny Marr of The Smiths and Sean Ono-Lennon.

From the psychedelic-tinged punk he crafted with The Soft Boys in the ’70s to his later work with The Egyptians, Hitchcock’s musical palette is surreal and eccentric – and Shufflemania! is no exception. In the liner notes Hitchcock calls it a “party record, with a few solemn moments, as parties are wont to supply.”

Special thanks to WXPN’s Eric Schuman for engineering, mixing and producing this session.