Discogs
Artist Biography
by Jason Ankeny
Although virtually unknown outside of indie rock circles,
the Pastels
were one of the most inspirational and enduring groups of the genre, in
their early days spearheading a movement toward a renewed sense of
wistful musical primitivism and willful naivete known variously as
"shambling" and "anorak pop." In addition, their influence helped bring
international notice to a resurgent Scottish musical community, with
frontman
Stephen Pastel's legendary 53rd and 3rd label helping to launch the careers of bands including the
Jesus & Mary Chain,
Shop Assistants,
BMX Bandits,
the Vaselines, and
the Soup Dragons. Formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982, the band initially comprised vocalist/guitarist
Pastel (nee
McRobbie), guitarist
Brian Superstar (born
Brian Taylor), and drummer
Chris Gordon; they debuted that autumn on the Whaam label with the single "Songs for Children," but
Gordon soon exited, the first of many subsequent lineup shuffles.
Ambition was never
the Pastels' strong suit, and luck was rarely on their side; as the group's members -- now including bassist
Martin Hayward and drummer
Bernice Simpson
-- devoted their primary focus to their studies, new music appeared
only sporadically and to little notice, on a seemingly random series of
labels. After 1983's "I Wonder Why" was released on Rough Trade, they
moved to Creation, where they hit their stride with the 1984 drone-pop
gems "Something's Going On" and "A Million Tears." After one further
single, 1985's "I'm Alright with You,"
the Pastels
split with Creation, moving to the tiny Glass label. In 1986, their
track "Breaking Lines" appeared on the influential C-86 collection
assembled by the New Music Express, transforming the anorak movement
into an overnight media sensation quickly accompanied by intense
critical backlash.
Regardless of prevailing musical trends, however,
the Pastels soldiered on: after recruiting one-time
Shop Assistants keyboardist
Aggi Wright, they recorded the 1986 single "Truck Train Tractor," followed by
Crawl Babies and
Comin' Through. Finally, in 1987 the group found time to assemble an LP,
Up for a Bit with the Pastels, followed in 1988 by
Suck on the Pastels, a collection of unreleased Creation-era material. In 1989, former
Vaselines frontman
Eugene Kelly and ex-
Shop Assistant David Keegan joined the fold for
Sittin' Pretty, the final LP to include
Superstar,
Hayward, and
Simpson. The remaining duo of
Pastel and
Wright expanded to include
Katrina Mitchell for the 1991 collaboration
Jad Fair and the Pastels, followed by the 1994 EP Olympic World of Pastelism. Their third album,
Mobile Safari,
was released in 1995 by Domino in the U.K. (which began a long-running
alliance) and Up Records in the U.S. It featured a lineup including
longtime band associates
Norman Blake and Gerald Love (both from
Teenage Fanclub) and ex-
Shop Assistant guitarist
David Keegan, and a guest appearance from
Luna's
Dean Wareham.
Their next album, 1997's
Illumination, was issued by the same configuration of record labels and featured a similar lineup, only with the addition of guitarist
Jonathan Kilgour and guest shots from
Belle & Sebastian's
Isobel Campbell and pianist Bill Wells. A remix album,
Illuminati, was released in 1998 and featured reworks of tracks by
Kevin Shields,
Stereolab,
Cornelius, and other A-list indie rockers. This burst of recognition and activity was derailed when
Wright decided to leave the band in 1998, throwing
Mitchell and
Pastel
into a spin. Instead of jumping back into making music right away, the
band went on hiatus while figuring things out. The duo next formed
Geographic Records in 2000 as an offshoot of Domino, and began releasing
records by friends (
Future Pilot AKA,
International Airport) and obscure acts (
Nagisa Ni Te,
Maher Shalal Hash Baz.) The band reappeared at last in 2003 with the mostly instrumental soundtrack for the film
The Last Great Wilderness. The album was produced by
the Sea and Cake's
John McEntire and featured
International Airport's
Tom Crossley along with a vocal feature for
Jarvis Cocker. A friendship with Japanese band
Tenniscoats led to their next release, 2009's collaborative effort
Two Sunsets. The core band was expanded to include
Crossley and
Mitchell's sister
Alison,
with Love still there, too. With the record label slowing its pace and
releasing one album a year, the band turned toward recording an album of
their own, and in 2013 their fifth record,
Slow Summits, was released.
McEntire was again in the producer's chair and guitarist
John Hogarty had joined the ranks. Also on board as guests were
To Rococo Rot's
Stefan Schneider and
Robert Lippok, as well as
Norman Blake (again), and original bandmember
Annabel Wright.
Tracklist
| 1 |
The Hits Hurt |
3:48
|
| 2 |
Cycle |
4:33
|
| 3 |
Thomson Colour |
1:43
|
| 4 |
Unfair Kind Of Fame |
4:21
|
| 5 |
Fragile Gang |
2:39
|
| 6 |
The Viaduct |
5:08
|
| 7 |
Remote Climbs |
2:46
|
| 8 |
Rough Riders |
4:31
|
| 9 |
On The Way |
3:38
|
| 10 |
Leaving This Island |
2:31
|
| 11 |
G12 Nights |
1:12
|
| 12 |
Attic Plan |
4:22
|
| 13 |
Mechanised |
1:31 |
