Pastelism, indie pop, twee pop and Glasgow

Lately (more or less, for three months) I've been really really keen on indie pop and specially glaswegian bands. One in particular (which was the one who made me get into the whole twee pop scene because of its gorgeous and baby faced lead singer) has had my attention and I've been really addicted on them. In about three months, I scrobbled near 700 times their songs in my last.fm account! And, according to Last.fm, in the last seven days, I've listened to them 117 times.
Yes, this is what the heart-warming, adorable and lovely music of The Pastels does to you, at least it did to me! As a young teenage girl, angry and hurt with the world, The Pastels have shown me a much simpler and (I don't want to say bright) more comfortable side of life and of the whole social situations. Of course, Stephen Pastels' soft and adorable voice helps the whole thing, but their melodies are simple yet so beautiful. I understand why Kurt Cobain (as I've been told) considered them his favourite band!
I usually listen to early 1980's bands, usually labelled as 'post-punk' or 'new wave', as you could already see,   because those type of bands usually speak out my mind, whether lyrically, whether instrumentally. But The Pastels speak out my longing for freedom as a teenager, like in 'Ride' (from 'Up For A Bit With The Pastels'), and also they have the loveliest love songs ever. They are not dramatic (which I usually love) or talk about heartache (which I usually love too) but about a love I kind of wish I had: spontaneous, simple, young and live. The typical teenage love.
Yet The Pastels are not all about happiness and simple and quotidian stuff, they can talk about heartache too, about being dumped and so. 'A Million Tears' is quite the perfect example to it: 'If I can't have you then I don't want nobody else, I'll tear myself apart and cry a million tears...'. 'Manarin', sang by Katrina Mitchell, is also a good example of a heartache song: 'You're my one the only dear to me/ A thousand miles across the sea/ You're not here, I'm not there/ We're apart and I'm lonely '
Probably, most of The Pastels' songs are about a mutual love (mainly on their earlier songs) because Aggi Wright (Stephen Pastel's former girlfriend) was in the band. So, the couple did songs to one another, singing out how lovely they are and how good they make each other feel. We can find evidence in songs like 'Thank You For Being You', 'Baby Honey', 'Automatically Yours' and 'Baby You're Just You'.
Anyway, I once talked with Stephen via twitter and asked him what was his favourite album by them (because that's one of the many questions I want to ask him) and he answered 'Up For A Bit With The Pastels'. These were his words exactly: «I think Up For A Bit With The Pastels. It was an adventure. 'Yes, fantastic adventure. Leamington Spa, John Rivers. We were all open to the moment of surprise. On SP less so...»
Personally, Sittin' Pretty is my favourite because, as Stephen once said, it's much heavier and somewhat 'darker' than their first and maybe that's why I like it better (since it fits my personality better). Anyway, I highly recommend any of the albums, and if you buy them, it's totally worth it! 
Go and search for The Pastels' music and then tell me on the comments bellow what you thought.


All the best,
xxxxxx

Back cover of 'A Truckload of Trouble', a compilation of songs released in '93 by The Pastels. This young boy is Stephen Pastel,. What a babe, right??