A Mere 39 years after the band fell apart mid song at the Hammersmith Palais they are back together, with the original line-up of Dave Morgan, Pete Astor, Bill Price and Andy Strickland to finally record the band's debut album in Hackney last August. With Sean Read in the producer's chair making sure things remained friendly.
The album opens with Feel Good Now which is easier said than done these days, Pete is bored staring at the wall, he may be lost but at least he's found the old gang, so has a chance to feel good now, once again with The Loft's classic jangle pop sound intact.
Dr Clarke is in praise of the man with the dream machine, transforming normality into another worldly place, where jangling psychedelia is always in the charts, while everyone goes ga ga for fine literate pop like this.
Storytime has a large Patti Smith influence musically, even if the story in the lyrics are far less visionary.
Ten Years sitting on a sofa staring into the void, are they that off their faces, or is this just a relationship, that went stale enough they thought Jesus might save it as easily as the careful guitar parts.
Killer has gentle cymbals, a slow steady drumbeat for this tale of the one they call Killer, no not Jerry Lee but some ruthlessly efficient hit person of one sort or another.
Do The Shut Up is a dance craze perfect for 2025, we can all shout along to the chorus Do The Shut Up and crawl away, pick your own targets, hundreds currently available, all in need of being told to Do The Shut Up this really needs to be in heavy radio rotation across the globe in 2025.
Greensward Days are they ready to go larping, imagining they are back in the 1950's, or is it just about going to school in Hockley, this has a sweet jangling reminiscent feel.
The Elephant is in the room again, this can be taken a few ways, with stop start guitars and almost Doors style organ part working to deftly paint a picture.
Somersaults is what long-time fans of the band will be doing when they hear how good the album is, this in places feels like an updated 60's special agent tune, they see visions of the small time life they left behind, when musical superstardom beckoned, Pete will lecture you on the finer points of how that dream can dissolve at a moment's notice, while you wonder at the instrumental bits added to this masterful tune.
This Machine is on and is beating out a super steady Dave Morgan beat, up there on the 22nd floor, even if no one ever realizes what This Machine does, unlike The Loft who make classy records like this one you need to buy.
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