Slow Summits
The Pastels\' history on the Scottish music scene goes back to the \'80s, but their profile has always been stronger among musicians who went off in their own directions. For their first full studio album since 1997\'s *Illumination*, The Pastels go beyond their basic lineup of Stephen McRobbie and Katrina Mitchell to include Gerard Love, Katrina\'s sister Alison, original member Annabel \"Aggi\" Wright, Norman Blake, members of To Rococo Rot and Japan\'s Tenniscoats, and even Glasgow-based composer Craig Armstrong, who provides the string arrangement on \"Kicking Leaves.\" \"Secret Music\" starts things off, showing how The Pastels inspired bands such as Belle & Sebastian to tread lightly and always be melodic. \"Summer Rain\" expands the instrumental breaks to reflect their interest in texture; this has led The Pastels to scoring movie soundtracks, as the brief but beautiful instrumental \"After Image\" and the longer, more intense title track suggest. Recorded in Glasgow by John McEntire and Bal Cooke and mixed in Chicago by McEntire, *Slow Summits* captures a variety of moods, but none are better than the flute-inspired track \"Wrong Light.\"
Slow Summits is the culmination of all the music they've been engaged in since their 1997 set, Illumination. Not quite as shadowy a presence as sometimes suggested, their music has continued to grow by way of other activities; a well regarded film soundtrack (The Last Great Wilderness, Geographic, 2003), some theatre pieces (for 12 Stars) and a collaboration with Japan's Tenniscoats (Two Sunsets, Geographic, 2009). Slow Summits gathers on all these works but moves off in newer and older ways too with its flowing montage of autumn instrumentals, pop songs, slow motion build ups and suddenly optimistic melody lines. Recorded in Glasgow by John McEntire and Bal Cooke, and mixed in Chicago by McEntire, Slow Summits features the core Pastels lineup of Stephen McRobbie, Katrina Mitchell, Tom Crossley, Gerard Love, Alison Mitchell and John Hogarty. Guests include original member Annabel Wright (Aggi) and Norman Blake. Two-thirds of To Rococo Rot (Stefan Schneider and Ronald Lippok) contribute and Tenniscoats too. Kicking Leaves features a memorable string arrangement from Craig Armstrong, the Glasgow-based composer. It features a two drum sets approach to music, a love of elongated jams and the turnaround.
The Pastels' first proper release in 16 years is typically intimate, marrying the rough naïveté of indie pop with soft, jazzy music influenced by the likes of Burt Bacharach. Chicago studio wizard and multi-instrumentalist John McEntire captures each sigh and flourish in vivid clarity.
In the ’80s, The Pastels evolved the minimalist, garage-crafted punk-rock blueprint into a more contemplative, gentle form, setting the stage for generations of jangly, twee bands that are now a mainstay of the transatlantic indie-pop scene. Like many a trailblazer, however, The Pastels had to settle for inspiring…
The Pastels possess a hushed and humble kind of gorgeousness, they'll forever be just on the outside of the hipster zeitgeist and that's just fine.
In the 16 years that elapsed since the Pastels' last full album, 1997's Illumination, they stayed busy with collaborative projects (2009's Two Sunsets made with Tenniscoats), soundtracks (2003's The Last Great Wilderness), and real life (Stephen Pastel established a record shop, Monorail, in Glasgow).
Slow Summits is being billed by some as The Pastels’ first album in sixteen years – a timescale that only fits if you discount their 2003 The Last Great Wilderness soundtrack and their 2009 collaboration with Tenniscoats. But to strike both from memory for the sake of implying a comeback would be remiss, with both projects arguably key to Slow Summit’s graceful configuration – the former coaxing the band down more wistful avenues and ushering in a gentler aesthetic; the latter furthering the transition, and commencing an alliance carried over to this record’s guest appearances from the Japanese duo.
For the last 30 years, the Scots have been primary players in a particularly wistful piece of the musical landscape, whether you care to call it indie pop, shambling, anorak, or twee.
Clash reviews 'Slow Summits', the first album in 16 years from indie-pop Scots The Pastels.
The reconvened Pastels shouldn't arouse the same animosity as 25 years ago – indeed they might win some new fans, writes <strong>Dave Simpson</strong>
After too long away, Scotland’s indie monarchs and their extended family return to charm. CD review by Kieron Tyler