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DVDfever.co.uk – The Pastels/Tenniscoats: Two Sunsets CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Geographic Records
- Released: September 2009
- Rating: 6/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Glaswegians return, with ambient-folk little gem. A little help from their friends.
Stephen Mc Robbie, Annabel Wright (Aggi) and Katrina Mitchell – The Pastels, on the album front at least, have been inactive for nigh on a decade.
Quaint, cute, blissful, serene, even cuddly, is probably the best way of describing Two Sunsets, a collaboration with Tokyo outfit Tenniscoats.The melting of their styles is absolutely perfect in this case charming, flowery and dreamy low-fi ballads set to soothe you at every level.
Tenniscoats had apparently began writing some songs even before they suggested the collaboration, which was lucky for The Pastels.Musically, this is like a summer breeze wafting through your back door, which when you consider their early material in the early 80s, is a dramatic shift from their raw immediate sound.
This is a very well crafted laidback collection, though some doubt is cast over its general appeal.
They, even with their Japanese counterparts, retain a certain ambient awkwardness at times that befits this stylish CD. Their evolution has been gradual, but they seem to have ironed out any musical blips in the intervening years while making soundtracks for film and theatre, which would have been a massive learning curve, both intellectually and musically.
Songs calmly plod along seamlessly, leaving the listener with a feeling of warmth and relaxed engagement.Like many of its type, this is a grower, but that doesnt mean its not in any way inaccessible, and Im sure at sometime in the future, bits will appear in some soundtracks.
From a Japanese perspective there are very few musical clues, except for, perky Yomigaeru and Hikoki, and rambling ballad Song For A Friend.Highlight is the almost popy adventure, the jolly Sodane.
The verdict Perfect for Sunday mornings.
Weblink:myspace.com/thepastels
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Tokyo Glasgow
2. Tow Sunsets
3. Song For A Friend
4. Vivid Youth
5. Yomigaeru
6. Modesty Piece
7. About You
8. Boats
9. Hikoki
10. Sodane
11. Mou Mou Rainbow
12. Start Slowly So We Sound Like A LochView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.