The Loft
Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same
Tapete Records
It’s all water under the bridge now, but The Loft’s initial divorce was as messy as it gets. Whatever uneasy truce existed in the intervening 39 years between the onstage split at the Hammersmith Palais — of all places — and Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same has seemingly evolved into a full-blown reconciliation, with wry smiles all around.
Happily musing about growing old gracefully, or clumsily, The Loft — the fair-haired boys of Creation Records’ mid-‘80s roster, thanks to well-regarded singles “Up the Hill and Down the Slope” and “Why Does the Rain?” — are getting on famously now, releasing an engaging and deceptively simple LP of guitar-pop splendor. Incredibly, considering how polished and perfectly formed its 10 songs are, Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same is the debut album from guitar/vocalist Peter Astor, guitarist Andy Strickland, bassist Bill Prince, and drummer Dave Morgan, and it is utterly charming. It’s never too late for a fresh start, apparently.
A gifted songwriter, Astor went on to an acclaimed solo career after The Loft, along with forming the short-lived indie-pop outfit The Weather Prophets, and Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same is brimming with wonderfully tuneful, low-key gems like the jangly “Feel Good Now” — a swinging ode to sobriety and hard-earned wisdom with a positive outlook and a twinkle in its eye. Feeling nostalgic, the misty “Greensward Days” and “Somersaults” yearn for yesterdays, their hazy, bittersweet melodies and lithe, wistful turns gently rowing a boat into a “Waterloo Sunset” of Ray Davies’ imagination. Rather than wallowing in misery, there is gratitude in their souls for the memories.
Were that all, it would be enough to recommend Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same, but Astor and company effortlessly fill out the scorecard with more easygoing, understated beauties, the amiable and infectious character sketch “Dr. Clarke,” who seems too good to be true, being one of them. Sliding along at a relaxed pace, wary and ensconced in twilight, “Killer” may also hold a dark secret, as “Storytime” slinks its way into shadowy noir and pops up when the light hits it. Here is where Graham Parker and Steve Wynn hold an underground, indie-rock summit with The Loft, while the pumping, sardonic “Do the Shut Up” invites Elvis Costello to join in.
“I think I’m lost, but I’m good at pretending I’m not,” admits Astor in “Feel Good Now,” which hints at a streak of melancholy underneath all this carefree joie de vivre. It’s just temporary. This reunion promises more good times ahead.
