We covered 'Ben Leiper' ('because when he's not saving goals, he's saving lives') a couple of days ago, and there is to an extent a footballing theme to the setting up of Finnish band 'Pastis', as it was 2 friends from the football terraces, Emil and Markus who joined together with 3 other musicians to form a band who sadly aren't named after the favourite food of football supporters from Devon, but are certainly influenced by Britpop and a range of alternative Indie Rock sounds.
They released their debut EP 'Four Stories' back in December, and it's a whirlwind 13 minutes of Indie Rock (bordering on pop) based around big melodies, easy going vocals and smart rhythms. It opens with 'Es Muss Sein', some hefty guitars and whilst it might appear a slightly formulaic start, it also becomes addictive pretty quickly with a lilting tune and drumbeats straight out of Manchester. 'Sheepskin Girl' carries on pretty much in the same vein, a constant barrage of tunes, neat guitar lines and a satisfying pop feeling that sits under the heavier guitars.
'Good Times' is probably my least favourite track, but it still has a big anthemic chorus that would work well on a big festival stage. My favourite song however is left until last on the EP, the quite brilliant 'Modern Days', with a an outrageously catchy melody and even more outrageous build up to the chorus, which would border on the 'cheesy' if it wasn't just so enjoyable - this definitely goes on my playlist of favourite tracks of the year.
We probably drown ourselves sometimes in serious releases, thought provoking and melancholy songs that can weigh heavily, so we're delighted to introduce everyone to 'Pastis', because 'Four Stories' is just great fun to listen to, and this is a band just made for a summer festival near you.
W