Pete Astor, “being in my fifties”, has also noticed in the past two years that the country of the past is now bigger than the country of the future. You might not notice it at 49. And the great British songwriters of tank top pop notice it with more force than others: Roddy Frame, Edwyn Collins, Lloyd Cole, Nick Heyward, Bill Pritchard. Pete Astor was among the finest songwriters of his generation along with The Loft and the Weather Prophets, and he really hasn’t skipped a beat. It is the times that have become more needy.
“Time On Earth” is an album that must be heard in its entirety, from beginning to end
And of course, for Time On Earth, Astor has rallied musicians who have played with Edwyn Collins, Paul Weller, Everything But The Girl and unforgettable, if unsuccessful, bands like Spearmint, Death In Vegas and Denim. He has written songs about loss, loneliness and regret, about the ending of life, about faith, adventures of the heart and fulfilled love. He himself writes ironically that this record – his eleventh since 1987 – is of course his best. That might even be true. The kregle organ is reminiscent of Attractions, the trumpet of Dexys, and “Miracle On The High Street” and “Sixth Form Rock Boys” are reminiscent of the La’s, even Paul Simon.
So if a knowledgeable music journalist imagines him as a songwriter who would have recorded with the Wrecking Crew at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles in the seventies and at the same time as a charming folkie who would have performed in the clubs of England in the sixties, it is both true. But Pete Astor is a child of the early ’80s, when in England pop music was once again thought of as the defining aesthetic trait: as literature, as a lifestyle, as a style. “Time On Earth” is an album that must be heard in its entirety, from beginning to end. Up to “Grey Garden”, “Undertaker” and “Fine And Dandy”. It’s made for that. Earlier, yes, earlier a matter of course!
SIMILAR REVIEWS
Bill Pritchard :: Mother Town Hall
The Englishman’s guitar pop knows no bitterness or melancholy
Edwyn Collins :: Understated
Once again the songwriter succeeds in creating a great album between pop and soul
Lloyd Cole :: Broken Record
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