Up for a Bit with the Pastels cover

Up for a Bit with the Pastels

Released

It took Glasgow group The Pastels four years to get around to record their debut album. During those years they recorded and released a small clutch of singles for labels like Rough Trade, Creation, and Whaam!, before landing on David Barker’s Glass imprint. It felt like the right home for the group, and Up For A Bit was, unsurprisingly, newly confident – able to stretch their limbs across a full-length, they’re writing pop songs here that are drenched in the buzzsaw drone of overloaded guitars, with chord changes borrowed (with thanks) from Jonathan Richman and old soul sides. The highlight is the definitive rendition of their endless, overdriven mantra, “Baby Honey,” a heady moment of post-Velvets minimalist splendour.

Jon Dale

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