Following the Geographic imprint's recent reissue of Lightships from Teenage Fanclub's Gerard Love, the Domino label is now offering up a unique soundtrack from The Pastels. There's a nice synergy with the Lightships release since Love is on this album too.
The release is a soundtrack to the film of the same name, and as such, the pieces are abstract and a bit more nebulous than other Pastels selections. The tracks meander around simple instrumental figures with an understated elegance. With the main theme here even echoing faintly Tindersticks material. All those instrumentals are good, but the two vocal numbers here are the songs worth highlighting. A cover of "Everybody is a Star" by Sly & The Family Stone is a nice showcase for Katrina Mitchell, while "I Picked a Flower", with vocals from Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, pulses with its own energy. This percussive workout is a real gem. And the whole album has a vibe tha owes nearly as much to the musicians involved as it does to the production by John McEnire (Tortoise).
The Last Great Wilderness is out now via Domino.
[Photo: Blair Young]