The Loft ‎– 1982-1985 Once Round The Fair [LP] (1989, Creation Records)

 

An excellent compilation that gathers this short-lived group's output. The Loft never quite got the attention they deserved as a guitar pop band. The fact that they were on Creation Records and later turned into The Weather Prophets seemed to often overshadow the band's music. The complete, stumbling, perfect imperfections of "Why Did the Rain" highlight the group's strong points, with distinct, melodic guitar leads over a jangling rhythm section. Tracks like this one helped set the stage for the direction of indie pop over the next 20 years. The warm production emphasizes a classic structure that draws from The Velvet Underground, Television, and The Byrds. A crisper production follows on the rest of the tracks, but this short collection never falters in song quality. "Skeleton Staircase" lightly drones and jangles as Pete Astor croons is his faltering, song-speak way. Andy Strickland's clean guitar work balances out the uneven moments. "Winter" is another fine track, with the vocals and guitar raised to the very front of the track as the muffled drums carry the back. It could easily be mistaken for something off of the Flying Nun roster. "Up the Hill and Down the Slope" is the group's swan song -endemic of their entire output- a seemingly tangled mess of guitars and crooked melodies, but structured to perfection. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

 

 

Label: Creation Records ‎– CRELP 047 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation 

Country: UK 

Released: 1989 

Style: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Jangle Pop

 

Tracklist:

A1 Why Does The Rain 3:38 

A2 Skeleton Staircase 2:36 

A3 Lonely Street 3:04 

A4 Your Door Shines Like Gold 3:11 

A5 Time 2:52 

B1 Winter 3:05 

B2 Like 2:34 

B3 On A Tuesday 3:04 

B4 The Canal And The Big Red Town 2:54 

B5 Up The Hill And Down The Slope 4:16 

 

Notes:

Title from the spine. Front sleeve ommits the time-frame while the rear only reads "The Loft 1982 - 1985". 

Tracks A1, B1, B2 recorded in 1984. 

Tracks A4, A5, B5 recorded in 1985. 

Tracks A2, A3, B3, B4 recorded for a BBC Radio One session January 1985. 

 

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