I Often Dream of Trains

iTunes Review

At the time of its release at the tail end of 1984, I Often Dream of Trains was considered a necessary ‘back-to-basics’ move after the complicated and personally unsatisfactory sessions for 1982’s Groovy Decay and its modified alternative Groovy Decoy. Over time, it has proven to be among Robyn Hitchcock’s strongest, most engrossing releases. Primarily acoustic with Hitchcock playing all the instruments, Trains is a brilliant, intimate listen into a dark, private world where the recording artist sounds trapped in an attic with spooky piano notes trailing past the rudimentary acoustic guitars. “Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl” is Hitchcock at his most direct and bold. “Uncorrected Personality Traits” is delightfully eccentric, matching Hitchcock’s elliptical free-floating word-puzzle lyrics about problematic adulthood with tight, regimented harmonies. “Sounds Great When You’re Dead” balances the explorative songwriter’s darker impulses with his need to write the bashing, celebratory hook. “Cathedral,” “Flavour of Night,” “Autumn is Your Last Chance” and “I Used to Say I Love You” are quiet, reflective musings that benefit from this simplified approach. Reissues have added and subtracted songs at seeming random. The sudden disappearance of the “bonus” cut “Mellow Together” is unfortunate, however, there is plenty here to obsess over.