I might be the only person in London who is excited that we’ve woken up to a rainy September morning. In 1991, this was the backdrop to which I fell in love with “Astronauts” by The Lilac Time. The opening steal from Joni Mitchell’s Free Man In Paris sets the scene for a vignette of ecstasy and passion in the West London locale of the title North Kensington navigates Stephen’s narrative gaze through a fug of unreliable memoir, a syncopated psychogeography of plans hatched in the height of passion and mislaid in the cold sobriety of morning.
In a break from previous albums, accordions, banjos and mandolins are suddenly out; jazz guitar is in. The filigree work of guitarist Sagat Guirey on the outro of “A Taste for Honey” acts as a sublime parting shot to a lyric which acts as a wiser, wistful companion piece to Stephen’s 1985 hit “Kiss Me“. Like the camera retreating to reveal the years elapsed between the time depicted and the present day. Sagat’s presence is no less revelatory on “Sunshine’s Daughter“. Alongside fellow “Astronauts” highlights “The Darkness Of Her Eyes and Hats Off Here Comes The Gir”l, it’s a song about a dream of a girl; a chimeric vessel of desire and idealism, elusive enough to keep its creator writing more and more songs in the hope of making her real: ‘The more materialistic the world becomes/More angels I will paint for her/I’ve rechristened the Statue of Liberty/I’m calling her sunshine’s daughter.’
“Astronauts” is a transitional album – almost certainly more so than Stephen could have possibly realised. Having recently turned thirty, he experienced something we all encounter as we leave our third decade behind. We start to take stock and attempt to understand why we became who we became. “Grey Skies And Work Things” aches with exquisite yearning, recalling as it does the cruelty with which the week thwarts the sweet stolen adventures of young love.
Here and on “Finistere”, Cara Tivey’s inspired piano playing works alongside Sagat’s guitar to confer an incandescent fluidity upon the finished recording. The distance between the carefree youth of pop stardom and the first intimations of mortality can be measured between the first and second verses of the quietly devastating “Madresfield“; from the depiction of the deserted cricket pavilion obscured by fresh snowfall to the sudden shift in perspective from subject to protagonist: ‘No one ever told me/That killing time is harmful/For time cannot recover/What soon the ground will offer.’
And so Stephen and all of us at Needle Mythology are indescribably proud to announce that we will be releasing a super deluxe remastered three-album edition of “Astronauts“. For this release, Stephen has mined his personal archive. The resulting haul yielded enough music to fill two extra albums. “Any Road Up” is an album of live recordings taken from The Lilac Time’s final shows with Sagat Guirey, revealing the full extent of the group’s evolution with the new guitarist. “Softened By Rain” is an album of demos which highlights the profligate creativity that resulted in what would be The Lilac Time’s final album before 1999’s return “Looking For A Day In The Night”. Featured on “Softened By Rain” are two newly unearthed, previously unheard songs. In keeping with the special place “Astronauts” holds in fans’ affections, this triple album edition also comes with an extensive 11,000 word oral history of “Astronauts”, lyrics and liner notes. All three discs have been mastered for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Road and will be housed in a triple gatefold sleeve with a colour inner sleeve and new artwork for each disc, especially created by designer Mike Storey. The main sleeve for “Astronauts” itself will replicate the original artwork but with the four distinctive orbs rendered in a red “foil” texture.
Only 1000 of these will be created. There will be no further pressings. There will also be a triple CD release of “Astronauts“, again with no further pressings.
Finally, a word about the price. This is a triple gatefold record in which every album has its own distinctive artwork, using premium materials, and the best mastering, design and manufacture options available to us. The retail price at which this release has been set will be enough to cover our costs, with Stephen generously insisting that he forfeit a royalty until enough records have been sold to cover those costs. Our intention with this release of “Astronauts” was to create an artefact that you will want to keep close to you for the rest of your days. We think we’ve succeeded. We hope you do too. Pre-sale starts tomorrow (Friday Sep 6): at https://needlemythology.bandcamp.com from 8.00 am BST.
Pete Paphides, co-founder, Needle Mythology
The Fat Angel Sings 