Spilt Milk

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:00:00
With the help of his onetime student James Hoare of Ultimate Painting and Veronica Falls, Pete Astor, senior lecturer at the University of Westminster and indie pop icon, delivers one of his career highlights with 2016's Spilt Milk. Starting in the mid-'80s, Astor has been an astute detailer of life and love set to an always hummable soundtrack. Indie pop jangly with the Loft and Weather Prophets, subtle and simple on his solo albums, here Astor and Hoare split the difference with a simple jangle pop sound that is bedroom intimate. Hoare, with the help of Male Bonding's Robin Christian on drums and Pam Berry of Black Tambourine (and many others) on typically lovely harmony vocals, approximates the rich arrangements of Ultimate Painting to great effect, allowing plenty of room for Astor's words to land. He writes of real love lost and found, the power of music, the mysteries of life...simple stuff like that. As always, he's not a fancy lyricist who wants to show off how tricky he can be; instead, he delivers honesty and wisdom with plainspoken authority. This direct approach suits his unadorned vocals well; he'll never dazzle with his range but when he and Berry connect, it sounds like they've discovered the key that unlocks some deeper truth that can only be reached through vocal harmony. They make a very good team, as do Astor and Hoare. Whether chugging along happily on tracks like "Really Something" or swaying quietly on pretty ballads like "There It Goes," the music fits the moods perfectly and the low-key sound makes the songs even stronger. In that regard, it might be the best match of Astor's career. Even if it's not, it still makes for a pretty great album, one of his strongest and one of the strongest singer/songwriter albums one is likely to hear in 2016. ~ Tim Sendra