Friday, May 11, 2018

Pete Astor, One For The Ghost, 2018


Album Review

By Henry Lipput

Many of the songs on Pete Astor's new album, One For The Ghost, have an early rock-and-roll, country-rock feel. On "Water Tower," there's a sense that we might be hearing a very professional Skiffle group from mid-50s England, although I don't think anyone on the album is playing a washboard and thimble. You may have heard about The Quarrymen, one of the bands from the period, which featured a line-up that included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.

It's not as if the songs on One For The Ghost are pastiches of early rock-and-roll tunes. But the playing on the album is made up of simple, clean basic band arrangements with Astor joined by James Hoare on guitar, Franic Rozycki on bass, Jonny Helm on drums, and Pam Berry on vocals. One of the best examples is "Golden Boy" with its early Elvis vibe ("Mystery Train," perhaps). The song then morphs into a major band workout with wailing guitars and the rhythm section in kick-ass mode.

The new album is Astor's first since 2016's Spilt Milk, although he's been around since the dawn of Creation (Records). His indie-pop cred was solidified when his first single, "Why Does The Rain," with his band The Loft, was released by Creation in 1984. His label mates eventually included Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis, and The Boo Radleys.

"One evening, when I was enjoying my favorite red wine," Astor has said. "I decided to pour an extra glass for people and times past. Soon it became a tradition, the name of a song, and then an album." The album's title song could have also been called "Famous Last Words" as the clever lyrics contain quotes from greats just before they passed on. I'm not sure these are what they actually said, but they do seem like something these folks might have used their last breath to, in come cases, complain about: "'It's the wallpaper or me you know / one of us has got to go,' / said Oscar Wilde / and then he died."

"Walker" is the sad story of a sad man who spends his nights walking the streets of London: "He walks the town to prove he exists / He walks at night /Don't know why / To make it right." There's some wonderful harmonizing by Astor and Berry on the song as well on "Injury Time" with its lovely tune and terrific melody in the chorus. And "You Better Dream" is lightly seasoned with some tasty jangle pop.

One For The Ghost is out now on Tapete Records.

No comments :

Post a Comment