Here Comes The Summer

I really don't know too much about London's Pastel Collision aside from the fact I love the crap out of their songs. This makes the fact that they barely exist according to the internet that much more unnerving. They made great songs, really great catchy, summery, jangling smile-fests (with horns!) and it's a shame I'll never have some faces to put to the songs. Or is it, really? I've sat for hours on many an occasion thinking about that exact thing. Of course, there's no way to ever really know, but maybe there's something about the sweet anonymity of something old and halfway forgotten that makes it just burst with charm.

Aaaaaanyway – they never released an album, just a handful of brilliant singles before moving on sometime after 1996 when they released their final record "Wherever You Go, Take Me With You" on Siesta Records. I've always been a bit more partial to the two singles they released for Spirit of 86 Records: the "Young" in 1994 and "Here Comes The Summer" the following year. Every song spanning the two 7"s are completely essential summer pop jams. Here's "Like Water" and "Here Comes The Summer"! Enjoy!

[MP3]: Pastel Collision :: Like Water (Highest Rec!)
[MP3]: Pastel Collision :: Here Comes The Summer (Yeah! This one too!)

Pastel Collision on Twee.net

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Le Futur Pompiste: "Seeds"

I came upon Le Futur Pompiste sometime this past winter and have been casually listening to them on and off since then, but today their song "Seeds" came up by chance on shuffle on the good ole iPod and it's just so good I figured I must post it. The band, five guys and one gal from Finland, play a sort of 60s/bossa/lounge influenced pop that fans of Broadcast and Stereolab would pretty much rejoice in.

[MP3]: Le Futur Pompiste :: Seeds (Very Highly Suggested)
Whenever I listen to this song I just can't help but want to go outside, lay down and just watch the clouds move through the sky -- the sunny sky, of course. Half of the reason this band succeeds so well in the music they make is Jessika Rapo's totally authentic smokey-sounding vocals, plus her vocal melodies aint too shabby either. The subtle keyboards in the verses juxtapose really nicely with the pulsing keys they eventually turn into for each chorus, exemplifying exactly what a true chorus is supposed to do: lift the song up.

"Seeds" comes from their 2004 album Your Stories And Your Thoughts, released by Siesta Records. If you'd like to, you can buy it from Siesta's shoppe, right here.
Le Futur Pompiste on MySpace

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