Astronauts (The 2024 Remaster)

The Lilac Time

Released on 1991-01-01 by POETICA
Main artists: The Lilac Time
Genre: Pop

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Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time were gloriously out of time as the 1990s began. Their brand of soft pop with folky overtones and nimble guitar work wasn't only out of fashion, it was barely a blip on the radar. Creation's Alan McGee was still a fan, though, and he signed the group to his label and set them to work on Astronauts. Fittingly, it made nary a nod to the prevailing gazes, grunges, or raves of the day. Instead, it featured Duffy and new sidekick Sagat Guirey -- who had replaced Nick Duffy -- unspooling a clutch of lovely tunes set to subtle backing made up of gently plucked Spanish guitars, gentle vocal harmonies, soothing synth pads, and the politest of drumbeats. The opening tracks are a bit of a red herring as "In Iverna Gardens" does indeed have insistent drums and some blippy synths, while "Hats Off Here Comes the Girl" sports some groovy backward guitar riffing. They are still far off the beaten track, far too pretty and sweet to compete with the baggy hordes. Most of the album is pitched somewhere between the amorphous dream folk of songs like "Fortunes," the fragile storytelling of "Grey Skies and Work Things," the loping country-pop of "The Whisper of Your Mind," and the restrained psychedelia of "Sunshine's Daughter." Centered by Duffy's reliably warm and welcoming vocals, it's a set of songs that are easy to appreciate for their craft while also letting the gentle warmth flood in. Of course, this whole discussion of the album's placement securely outside the mainstream ignores "Dreaming," a soft pop song given a techno remix by labelmates Hypnotone. Even given the 303 squelches and funky drums, Duffy is able to make it sound pastoral somehow, much in the way that Ultramarine were able to make their synths sound like they were made of paper and wood. It's a neat trick that somehow doesn't ruin the mood so precisely set by the rest of the album; it serves to enhance it. This was the last Lilac Time record for a few years, with Duffy feeling like maybe the band had run its course. This version of the group ends on a very high mark with Astronauts. Overlooked at the time, it has stood the test and is one of the best records associated with Stephen Duffy in a long, impressive career.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo

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Astronauts (The 2024 Remaster)

The Lilac Time

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In Iverna Gardens (The 2024 Remaster)