Pete Astor - Time On Earth

by Dixie Ernill

published: 8 / 11 / 2022

Label: Tapete Records
Format: CD

Mesmerising new solo album from former Loft and Weather Prophets frontman Pete Astor which proves to be one of the best records in his career

Review

In the press blurb Pete Astor says “As you would expect, I’m convinced it’s the best record I’ve made”. A bold statement by the man who fronted respected Creation bands The Loft and The Weather Prophets in the 1980’s and early 1990’s and has released numerous albums under various guises ever since, but I think he is right on the money. I’ve maintained a watching brief on his career and have been lucky enough to see him play solo a couple of times, most recently at the wonderful Glas Goes Pop event back in August when a number of the tracks on this album were given an impressive run out. His recent solo material has been decent enough, but ‘Time on Earth’ is in another league. There’s a lovely nostalgic slant to the record, which makes it ideal to listen to now as summer fades into autumn and the memory drifts back to those long warm evenings of July and then of years further back when the world was awash with possibilities. ‘Miracle On The High Street’ is the song that grabs me most with the line “You’re 25 in another life, cigarettes and so much time“ echoing the feeling of hazy memories the album gives. That’s not to say there isn’t equally mesmerising moments elsewhere – ‘English Weather’ is stunning too, melancholic beauty at its best, while the upbeat ‘Sixth Form Rock Boys’ is another trip down memory lane to (presumably) when Pete was first forming a band 40 odd years ago. There really isn’t a weak moment on the album, a rare thing in these disposal times, so when the last track ‘Fine and Dandy’, a tribute to the recently deceased Pat Fish (of The Jazz Butcher ), it’s well worth starting again at “New Religion”.

Track Listing:-

1 New Religion
2 English Weather
3 Stay Lonely
4 Time On Earth
5 Miracle On The High Street
6 Sixth Form Rock Boys
7 Soft Switch
8 Grey Garden
9 Undertaker
10 Fine And Dandy