Like most magical moments in music, Out There: A Deep Space Love Story came about by chance. Whilst sharing a bottle way back in time, celebrated author Russell Hoban and equally respected musician Andy Bown decided to write a song together, and from that small seed a whole universe was spawn (quite literally) and evolved into a fully fledged space opera. After the project became lost in a musical black hole for several years, it was resurrected by Andy just in time to honour Russell’s centenary year and now gets released as an eight song album that shines and shimmers like stars in outer space.
As we know, musicians are a funny bunch and putting two renowned names together is no sure sign of success, so you might think two artists working in different disciplines might be an even harder fusion. Not so in the case of Andy Bown (perhaps best known for his work in Status Quo) and Russell Hoban (author of, amongst many other things, Riddley Walker) who found an easy equilibrium when working in this field. That’s come about because they’ve both brought their respective talents to this project and meet somewhere in the middle, but not exclusively, there’s been some overlap between the two and it is from here that the album derives much of its magic. Originally recorded in 1997 before being produced and mixed in 2025, Out There has aged like that bottle of wine Andy and Russell shared all those years ago. That might be due modern studio wizardry, but it’s more likely the quality of songs which have a timeless feel that suggests they could have been conceived at any point in the last half century (or even the coming fifty years).
Like a wormhole opening up in space, opening (and title) track seems to hold a multitude of possibilities, a feeling that it could travel in any number of directions and that makes the acoustic number into which it evolves all the more surprising. Yet, when approaching Out There it is always wise to expect the unexpected because this is an album on which no two songs inhabit the same sonic space, evolving and revolving like some shapeshifting reptilian lifeform. It’s slightly eccentric and quirky in a quintessentially English way, but it’s also (other)worldly and outward looking. Those who only know Andy through his work with Status Quo might find the depth and breadth of this album surprising: he’s definitely found that fourth chord and uses it to great effect. However, if you are aware of his diverse career (including work with Pink Floyd and Roger Waters) then the eclectic nature of this album won’t be a surprise and I imagine that if they had a house band at Milliways, The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe, they wouldn’t sound too dissimilar to Out There. Yet no matter through what time zones and portals this album travels there’s always a focus on the story arc to stitch things back together. Despite its brief running time (twenty-eight minutes) Out There is packed full of ideas so it seems far longer. One listen (perhaps one lifetime) is never enough to fully explore all its nooks and crannies as the listener is pinged around between the songs with themes being echoed and shadowed, meaning all the songs are interconnected and linked thematically. That renders it a rare beast, a concept album without all the fluff: there’s not one second wasted here or any extraneous meanderings included only to move the story forwards.
A fine tribute to Russell Hoban and an intriguing addition to the Andy Bown discography, this album has a cinematic quality and is just crying out for a big budget screenplay, but until then here’s your ticket to Out There.
- Out There is released via SecondWave/Electric Stage and is available now.
- Andy Bown Official Website
Track List:
- Out There
- Flick And Fade
- Boondocks 3
- Flicker Freako
- There’s A Black Hole Called Regret
- Frogs And Owls
- City Of Love
- Deep Space Freighter
