Groovy Decay suffered because he was drinking himself to death at the time. Globe of Frogs was clearly the product of a burnout. But Hitchcock was without a label for over two years, and had plenty of time to develop the material on Moss Elixir and its vinyl demo alter ego, Mossy Liquor . The production is spare and acoustic, giving the record the same intimacy that produced Eye and the similarly excellent I Often Dream of Trains . If he thinks that this is the best he can do, that's enough to make me cry.
Nothing even comes close.
The demos on Mossy Liquor are slightly more entertaining, but mostly just slight. But there is an alienating detachment that makes the whole album seem emotionally muted. More than ever before, feeling is replaced with a self-satisfied eccentricity. Warner is giving the album a huge push, and I fear that people will hear it and think of Hitchcock as just another tuneless bore. Have a nice day.