Robyn Hitchcock discusses his 25th album, The Confuser, presenting it as a continuation of his long-running fascination with absurdity, uncertainty and a deliberately sideways view of life. The former Soft Boys frontman says the title reflects both a nickname from his wife and his belief that people are inherently confused, while the record uses humour and surrealism to approach mortality, identity and existence.

The album is Hitchcock’s first collection of original songs in four years and arrives more than five decades into his career, yet he says his creative core has not changed. Lead single ‘I Am This Thing’ grew from a reflective moment on the Isle of Wight, and its existential themes are balanced by deliberately nonsensical lyrics and playful sounds; Hitchcock sees this as a way of preventing thought and anxiety from becoming overly serious.