This is a record born through time; seasoned and erudite indie auteur, ex leader of Creation Records‘ favourites The Loft and The Weather Prophets, Pete Astor brings together strands and tributaries in his work over the years, mining timeless guitar pop to frame lyrical insights and melodic hooks, making music for today, with a true line from the past and an eye to the future.
Having released Spilled Milk (Fortuna Pop!) in 2016 to overwhelmingly positive response, Astor continues the musical spirit of that album with James Hoare (Ultimate Painting, Proper Ornaments, Veronica Falls) remaining a mainstay on guitar. He is now joined by The Wave Pictures‘ rhythm section of Franic Rozycki on bass and Jonny Helm on drums, plus Pam Berry of Withered Hand and Black Tambourine.
One for the Ghost‘s day psychedelia maintains Astor’s commitment with relevant and contemporary worlds; from the mordant wit of the title track (‘It’s the wallpaper or said you’ve got to go / said Oscar Wilde / and then he died’), to the London-based outsider ache of Walker (‘Walking the Arnold Circus – All the Way to Marble Arch), via the ageless love song of Water Tower and its paean to rural modernism (‘Meet my by the water tower / it’s my favourite concrete flower’).
Bruised but very much alive, Astor and One for the Ghost face the future with a smile and hungry heart.
One for the Ghost is released on 16 February via Pete’s new label Tapete Records, where soulmates such as Robert Forster, Lloyd Cole and Martin Carr frolic, just to name a few.
