Two Sunsets: C86 Meets Japanese Minimalism

There are twenty two years and a million miles between the Pastels’ debut album Up For A Bit, a Daniel Johnston /Jonathan Richman obsessed affair, and this collaboration with Japanese minimalists Tenniscoats. Gone are the quirky lyrics and twanging guitars, replaced with soft melodies and a light jazzy feel added by Bill Wells.

Also on the record is Teenage Fanclub’s Gerard Love who surfaces most clearly on Vivid Youth which sounds like Astrud Gilberto joined the Fanclub.

Vocal duties are shared by Tenniscoats and the Pastels, with Katrina Mitchell’s breathy voice counterpoised by Stephen Pastel, a man whose singing voice continues to offer hope to those of us who dare only sing in an empty house.

Not speaking Japanese, it’s impossible to know what some of the songs are about, but on the basis of the lyrics sung in English and the almost tentative feel of the songs, they are unlikely to be about sacrificing virgins.

One word of warning though: Halfway through the brief instrumental Modesty Piece, there are some pan pies. What they are doing there is anybody’s guess; surely Stephen Pastel knows that the proper use of a pan pipe is for bored looking South American Indians to use to perform covers of Phil Collins songs in shopping centres around the British Isles.