Pete Astor first made his mark on the world with The Loft, who signed to Creation and split onstage after just two singles. Subsequently, Astor went on to form The Weather Prophets, who remained with Creation and managed two albums before they in turn split and Astor went solo. Time is evidently a healer, as The Loft have just completed their debut album.
This compilation is an excavation of unreleased demos recorded by Astor in the years between The Loft’s split and right up to last year.
As you’d expect, many of these recordings are pretty primitive. 80s four-track bedroom demos with early drum machines always have a certain quality to them, and these are no exception, a clip-clop rhythm reminiscent of Young Marble Giants providing the backdrop to sparse arrangements.
The quality of the recordings, given their age, is remarkably good, and the quality of the material is decent, too. Sure, some of the material is a shade rough, sketchy – as ‘The Nothing Box’ and ‘The Good Shop’ illustrate perfectly – but this is par for the course, and the purpose of this album is to provide fans with an insight into the evolution of an artist, their sketchings and workings out. ‘Another Perfect Day’ brings the vibe of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Upside Down’ minus the feedback, a breezy, buoyant surfy tune, here with that 60s popness right to the fore. Uh-huh-huh.
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A lot of the recordings – ‘Kevlar Heart’ in particular – are typical of those recorded quietly with the vocals sung quietly and close to the mic so as to not disturb the neighbours, and a fair few are brief jottings, clocking in at under two minutes. But then there’s a song like ‘Uncrowned’ which isn’t only fully-realised but makes you sit up and listen, mouth ajar. How can songs like this have been cast aside just like that?
‘Unsent Letters’ is an interesting release which provides an unusual insight into the working processes of an artist who's arguably lesser-known – and Astor’s status, which is much more cult than commercial is relevant here. The album’s appeal is likely limited, but the songs themselves... the fact they’ve sat in a cupboard is whatever for all this time is a travesty. They deserve to be heard.
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