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Review: 'Astor, Pete & The Holy Road'
'Paradise'   

-  Label: 'Tapete Records'
-  Genre: 'Nineties' -  Release Date: '8.11.19.'-  Catalogue No: 'TR436'

Our Rating:
This is a long overdue re-issue of one of Pete Astor's classic albums in this case his first solo album from 1992, after the end of The Weather Prophets and with a band that feels hand picked to get the best out of Pete's songs. With Neil Scott from Felt and Everything But The Girl on Guitar, Chris Clarke on bass who went on to play in The Rockingbirds and Danny & The Champions of the world and Russell Lax on drums from The Oyster band.

The album opens with Almost Falling In Love a classic slice of jangle pop that takes me right back to the late 80's and early 90's sounding not unlike either Pete's old band The Weather Prophets or his touring partner of the time The Jazz Butcher it has a nice sense of regret as well.

She Took The T.V. is a song that takes me back to listening to John Peel late at night in the early 90's when he's often play this song that as gentle and nice as it sounds musically is full of bitter lyrics about an Ex who not only left him but Took The TV and the Washing machine, being dumped never sounded quite so pretty or wonderfully melodic as this so great to hear this song again.

Love, Full On has Pete explaining what lust is doing to him as he may or not be falling in love over a gorgeous fey indie backing that would be perfect for sad loners to obsess over while leaning against the wall in a dark club as they only dream of getting some Love, Full on or not.

Secret Life is full of longing and the need to keep certain things secret with some nicely laid-back drumming and a lush organ sound as well as the jangly guitars this is a really cool tale about that Preacher is it.

It seems apt to be writing about Guy Fawkes Night in November even if the woman he met on Guy Fawkes Night set off a totally different set of fireworks in him, this is a very slow story of a brief encounter unlike the friends I know who have been together now for 26 years having met on Guy Fawkes night. I love this song almost as much as I like going to Brockham Bonfire England's largest display.

Donnelly is the sad tale of someone drowning and leaving us too soon a cool tribute to someone who was as easily forgotten in death as in life the sophisticated jangle accentuating the key parts of this sad tale.

The Hotel At The Edge Of The World is one of the songs on this album that is like coming back to an old friend who I haven't heard in far too long and one of those songs that takes me back to the early 90's and travelling to as many obscure places as I could and staying in hotels that felt like they were on the edge of the world, no matter what the lyrics might reflect to me this is the soundtrack to taking a bus in the Karo Batak highlands in Sumatra and not being sure where I was getting off the bus or where I'd be staying it has a wonderful romance and nostalgia for me.

Sideways And The Golden Egg is the morning after regrets of the drunken madness at what's happened and the advice he got while hungover to go Sideways And Lay The golden Egg and not to go into a cheap burger joint, this song should be best heard back to back with The Jazz Butchers Next Move Sideways.

Lost Soul I need to hear a few times to try to screen out the vocals and work out just what song this most clearly reminds me of and it's probably by someone unlikely such as Steve Miller but don't let that put you off this is a very cool song. Still they are running and scurrying trying to catch the last train home again hoping not to be on the vomit comet or be the source of said vomit having just been told to go and not stick around. Kind of like an indie loser version of Should I Stay Or Should I Go, only the result is definitely go.

The album closes with Paradise a long slow goodbye full or regret and sadness as even hearing your name makes Pete think he's in paradise once more.

If you didn't buy this first time around or you've worn out your original copy if you want to get this Classic album find out more athttps://www.tapeterecords.de/artists/pete-astor/ or https://peteastor.bandcamp.com/album/paradise The Holy Road are also reforming to play a one off album launch at The Betsey Trotwood on Nov 16.19. that I wish I could be at.

  author: simonovitch

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