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New Music: Pastel - Souls In Motion

Writer's picture: Stephen TaylorStephen Taylor

Vinyl album cover for Pastel's debut album, Souls In Motion, available at Applestump Records. Image shows five male band members in shadow standing on the balcony of a high rise housing estate with the sunset behind them.

“Gonna Shoot through life until I hit the grave”, has there been a greater lyric on an opening track to a debut album since Oasis opened Definitely Maybe with Rock N Roll Star with “I live my life in the city / There’s no easy way out”? Maybe making comparisons to Definitely Maybe in my opening paragraph about Souls In Motion from Pastel is not helpful but seriously right now I am struggling to think of a better opening to an album than the one Pastel have given us with the opening track Heroes’ Blood. It has everything and more you could want, its full of confidence, swagger, inspiration and introduces us to a band and an album that is going to change your world.   


You may already be familiar with Pastel as they were picked by Liam Gallagher to provide support on his Knebworth dates in 2022. They have built up a fanbase through their own gigs together with further support slots including The Twang. Pastel have previously released two EP’s so many of you will have fallen in love with this band, but there is always something special when that debut album is born. It is the time when a band feel ready to announce their intentions to the world, to let the world know it is now their time. After listening to Souls In Motion I don’t think anyone can argue that the baton has been handed over from the great bands of the past and now firmly rests in the hands of Jack, James, Aaron, Liam and Rhys to lead the way. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the era of bands is over. Pastel are here to breath new life into the essence of being in a band, to remind us that sometimes all we need is a group of friends doing what they love, and giving us an escape from the world.   


Every song on this album has to be heard, every sound you hear is created from the heart and soul of the musicians behind them.Every lyric sung is done so with belief and meaning that you will have no choice but to follow this band on whatever journey they may have in store for you. Your Day is combines the bass and percussion in a way that guarantees this is a song that will be with you for a long time to come. Once again we are spoilt with lyrics that will make you feel that anything is possible, make you feel that you are good enough and can overcome any obstacles that may be in your way “Don’t sit around and hide for this is your day”



Dancing On A Pin has a sound of a band at their absolute peak, its worth taking a breath to remember that this is a band at the start of their journey. This is a debut album, yet what this song and every song throughout the album highlights is that these five men are musicians who love being in each others company. Musicians who push each other and bounce off each others energy to give us songs that make us feel alive. Isaiah will melt many a heart with its lovely chiming intro. This is a beautiful, anthemic song that will sweep you off your feet with some delicate guitar work and vocals full of soul. Running on Empty is driven by those pounding drums, the song is full of energy and soon bursts into a chorus that will soon be echoing around arenas.   


If you are still yet to be convinced (I would seriously question why you are not convinced), have a listen to Deeper Than Holy and try and tell me that Pastel are not a band you need in your life right now. This is an infectious song full of confidence and an arrogance that you can only get away with if you are as good as Pastel clearly are. The band have taken the best bits of The Verve, Oasis, Stone Roses and The Charlatans, Shack, Happy Mondays, proudly wearing these influences on their sleeves but are clearly more than the sum of their parts. This is not a rehash of what you have heard before, this is the sound of now.



Gone Too Fast welcomes you in with a delightful drumbeat, the vocals and guitar enters and will instantly brighten your day and when the chorus arrives you will be sending as much love and gratitude as you can in the direction of Pastel. There are so many lyrics here to give you the confidence to believe in who you are “What you want me to do / I’m not gonna change who I am / You don’t like it, well, that’s too bad, man”. As the album enters its final chapter Leave A Light On (A Velvet Storm) is a tender piano led ballad full of love and regret “And it’s true when I say that I love you / I ain’t putting it on”. Be warned, the harmonies on this album will also make you feel emotional, you will be thinking of the friends in your life, including those you don’t see as much as you would like to and want to put your arm around the people in your life and get lost in the power of the song.


Those melodic laid back vibes continue with Sunny Side which has a timeless sound to it. It's a song that will take you back to the past, a song that will remind you of people and days gone by. It's a song that you will fall in love with, it's a song that will make you smile and whoever thought to add the whistle to this song is an absolute genius. Escape brings this perfect debut album to an end. Yes I did say perfect and nothing will make me change my mind on that statement. Escape is full of sunshine and dreams that simply makes you feel glad to be alive.


Souls In Motion is the album you've been waiting for, Pastel are the band the world needs to wake up to. No matter who you are, no matter how old you are, Pastel are a band who will make you feel good about yourself and make you feel glad to be alive and isn’t that exactly what the entire world needs right now.



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