Crayola Lectern Releases New Single ‘Stars Over Louth’ And Offers Free Track Download

by Glenn Sargeant | Mar 28, 2025

Crayola Lectern released new single, ‘Stars Over Louth’, produced, recorded and mixed by Chris Anderson, is out now via Onomatopoeia Records (Hurtling, Barringtone, The Gasman, William D. Drake) This is the first taste from Crayola Lectern’s new album Disasternoon, out in August 2025.

Chris said, “Stars over Louth came out of a lockdown correspondence with Alfreda Benge, whose husband Robert Wyatt was very complimentary about the unnamed track. I wanted to dedicate it to them and so the title alludes to that. The title also echoes Sunshine on Leith by The Proclaimers. The tune is simple and unpretentious allowing space for reflection and the muted trumpet gives a human voice to the proceedings without the encumbrance of words.”

This track performed almost exclusively by Chris Anderson on mellotron, Rhodes and bass, with Al Strachan on trumpet. Imagine a late into the night, a candle lit scene, minimalist piano leads over a muted trumpet, a textured painting of atmospheric tones emerges, accompanied by a twinkling of the night sky. Imagine Frazier meets Edward Hopper, as you sit back and reflect, a glass of your favourite beverage, immersed in the moment, melt away the winter blues, as you contemplate life.

Crayola Lectern is the project from Chris Anderson, often compared to the piano led jazz of Robert Wyatt, the psychedelic folk of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, with echoes of the visceral vocal tones of Tom Waits. Chris Anderson has even been compared to Reginald Perrin in The Rise and Fall of… for his ironic and self-deprecating lyricism, while searching to find new meaning in the experimentalism of Fred Frith in this carousel of dreams.

Crayola Lectern are considered part of the Cardiacs family, with Chris Anderson at the helm weaving the sounds and melodies together, Caryola Lectern’s live show can often include appearances from the likes of Jon Poole (Cardiacs, Widhearts) heading-up electronics, gadgets, sounds and keyboard parts, Bob Leith (Cardiacs) on drums, and Bic Hayes (Cardiacs, Dark Star, Levitation) on guitar.