With Psonic Psunspot, the Dukes of the Stratosphear's full-length follow-up to 25 O'clock, the masquerading members of XTC broadened their swipes. Where the first EP primarily looked to British psychedelic nuggets for its influence, Psunspot crossed the ocean to perform the same affectionate pillaging from American artists, including winking refs to bands like the Byrds, Quicksilver Messenger Service, even the Theremin-drenched Beach Boys. The results, but for a frivolous series of whimsical spoken interludes performed by the studio manager's daughter, proved less broadly spoofish than 25 O'clock.

The adjustment in attitude is readily apparent from the first track, Colin Moulding's "Vanishing Girl," which takes its cue from the Hollies circa "Dear Eloise" or "Jennifer Eccles," and holds until the luminous finale, "Pale and Precious," Andy Partridge's tribute to Brian Wilson and the TM Boys. Colin triples his contributions to this set ("Girl" "Shiny Cage" and "The Affiliated"), though his presence is also felt more strongly on the disc's other tracks, too.

With 25 O'clock, you get the impression at times that the rest of the band was invited late to Andy's party. Here, listening to Colin's nimble bass work on the "Eight Miles High"-influenced "You're My Drug," for instance, his involvement in the Dukes sounds much more substantial. Moulding's "The Affiliated," his third compositional contribution to the disc, leans toward a world that he'd explore further in XTC's Apple Venus discs ("Frivolous Tonight").

In fact, where all six core cuts of the Dukes' debut rested on the listener's knowledge of sixties studio excess for a full appreciation, many of the follow-up's selections could have easily been put on a straight-faced XTC disc without too much tweaking. Partridge's McCartney-esque "Brainiac's Daughter" could've been a companion piece to Skylarking's "That's Really Super, Supergirl," right down to the lyrics' Silver Age comic book refs, while "Pale and Precious" anticipates Oranges and Lemons' equally SoCal-inflected "Chalkhills and Children."

But for its palpable "I'm Only Sleeping" nick, "Shiny Cage" could've easily fit among the songwriter's other observations of working class not-so-quiet desperation. At times, in fact, you can't help wishing that the XTCers had held some of these tracks for their next elpee where they might have gotten more serious critical attention.

Article Author: Bill Sherman

Bill Sherman is the Comics & Graphic Novels review editor for Blogcritics. With his lovely wife Rebecca Fox, he has recently co-authored a sudsy size acceptance novel entitled Measure By Measure.

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