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Pastel Music 3th Anniversary Sampler
27 Sep 2006, 21:32
I've already mentioned mrkwang a lot in my last.fm journals, but he deserves it - he is no doubt the most fantastic store owner I've ever done business with. Not only did he find me a copy of Pastel Music 3th Anniversary Sampler - a limited release that could be bought as an advance ticket for Pastel Music 3th Anniversary Live Party in November last year - he also gave me a very, very good deal on it. Yesterday my latest package from him arrived and I've already been listening to this a lot.
First, take a look at the tracklist below:
Jealous? At least one look at it was enough for me to send a request over to mrkwang right away. It was the first CD with all the Korean Pastel artists I wanted, but I figured the second CD with artists distributed by Pastel in Korea would be a very nice bonus.
CD.1
My main reason for wanting this compilation was of course the new tracks on the first CD.
Beginning with the first track from Misty Blue, it's the same acoustic version of Daisy that was later featured as a hidden track on Misty Blue's 1.5. As I had already heard it it wasn't that exciting, but it is still a very nice version of a great song. The live version of 초콜릿 isn't that different from the actual album version, which I had expected it to be, but the song is still good and the sound quality is better than on most live recordings.
Fifth track is 지랄이 풍년이네 from Bulssazo that released their second album only a couple of weeks ago. This song was not included on the new album so it seems like this is the only CD where it can be found right now. The song starts off with some woman talking solemnly about 불싸조 and then it sounds like something that could've been featured on their first album. Pretty good, but there's plenty of songs on the debut (I still haven't heard the second album) that I like more.
Tearliner should've released a double EP in August that might be the soundtrack for something called 시디 포함. It hasn't come out yet, so perhaps that movie/series/whatever-else-that-might-need-a-soundtrack that is delayed. The demo version of 소프트토크, 나이스크림, which is featured on this sampler, is quite short (1:36) so I'm guessing it will eventually be featured in a "real" version on that soundtrack. It's cheerful and sounds more like the short Lublic from Tearliner's debut than any of the songs I usually think about when contemplating how great he is. The other Tearliner demo song, Only my luck is also short (1:19) and also very soundtrack like, but still more Tearliner. Perhaps this one too should be on one of those EPs. None of the songs are Tearliner like I like him, but they're still pretty nice.
The demo version of adultchild's b tl b tl is the same as featured on the It's Rain demo. Very nice and mellow and remarkably better than the early version on the Monitor demo. A debut album should be expected in September so we can finally get a chance to hear adultchild's true potential in more songs, but seeing as it's already the 27th perhaps this too has been delayed?
"Unreleased track" Hey was actually the first track on OldFish's 1-3 EP. Both versions sounds pretty much the same, but I like Oldfish's sound more on the dreamier official debut, room.ing.
While not marked as a new track, Drive from The Highlights on this album is not the same version as on their second album, Crazy, Drunken Rock n' Roll. This version's got a saxophon and a jazzier sound that I quite like, but with the jazzier vocals on this one I still like the album version more.
As they were featured on the first CD, I thought that perhaps Kite Operations was a new Pastel band I hadn't heard about. They're really from New York and signed on K.O.A. Records, however they all appear to be ethnic Koreans. I liked A Wonder already from the intro because of the guitar "flageoletts" (anybody know what they're called in English?) and it continues into a nice indie rock song with English lyrics. Expect a blogpost of mine on these guys as soon as I shape up and get back to writing them :p
CD.2
Fifteen more or less wellknown artists from Japan, North America, Scandinavia and Germany are featured on the second CD of this sampler. Their styles vary from electropop to shoegazer to folkpop but they all have great songs featured. While I enjoy the variation it reminds me more of a playlist with random good songs than a well composed album, but then it is a sampler CD.
My favorite songs are definitly
Strangers When We Meet and He Lay in Reins, but I'd say every song on here is at least good.
Only one exclusive song on this CD: a live version of Maximilian Hecker's Lady Sleep. The music box of the album version is now a piano, but other than that there's no major difference - I think this version is even better!
I am very happy about getting this compilation, but I'd rather listen to the first CD (- Kite Operations) and the second CD (+ Kite Operations) separately than put both on the same playlist. The first CD does make a pretty nice introduction to Korean Pastel artists, but the Cracker soundtrack is even better in that purpose. The second CD provided me with an easy way to listen to many artists I've been meaning to check out for quite some time and I now have a better idea on where to start ^_^
First, take a look at the tracklist below:
Jealous? At least one look at it was enough for me to send a request over to mrkwang right away. It was the first CD with all the Korean Pastel artists I wanted, but I figured the second CD with artists distributed by Pastel in Korea would be a very nice bonus.
CD.1
My main reason for wanting this compilation was of course the new tracks on the first CD.
Beginning with the first track from Misty Blue, it's the same acoustic version of Daisy that was later featured as a hidden track on Misty Blue's 1.5. As I had already heard it it wasn't that exciting, but it is still a very nice version of a great song. The live version of 초콜릿 isn't that different from the actual album version, which I had expected it to be, but the song is still good and the sound quality is better than on most live recordings.
Fifth track is 지랄이 풍년이네 from Bulssazo that released their second album only a couple of weeks ago. This song was not included on the new album so it seems like this is the only CD where it can be found right now. The song starts off with some woman talking solemnly about 불싸조 and then it sounds like something that could've been featured on their first album. Pretty good, but there's plenty of songs on the debut (I still haven't heard the second album) that I like more.
Tearliner should've released a double EP in August that might be the soundtrack for something called 시디 포함. It hasn't come out yet, so perhaps that movie/series/whatever-else-that-might-need-a-soundtrack that is delayed. The demo version of 소프트토크, 나이스크림, which is featured on this sampler, is quite short (1:36) so I'm guessing it will eventually be featured in a "real" version on that soundtrack. It's cheerful and sounds more like the short Lublic from Tearliner's debut than any of the songs I usually think about when contemplating how great he is. The other Tearliner demo song, Only my luck is also short (1:19) and also very soundtrack like, but still more Tearliner. Perhaps this one too should be on one of those EPs. None of the songs are Tearliner like I like him, but they're still pretty nice.
The demo version of adultchild's b tl b tl is the same as featured on the It's Rain demo. Very nice and mellow and remarkably better than the early version on the Monitor demo. A debut album should be expected in September so we can finally get a chance to hear adultchild's true potential in more songs, but seeing as it's already the 27th perhaps this too has been delayed?
"Unreleased track" Hey was actually the first track on OldFish's 1-3 EP. Both versions sounds pretty much the same, but I like Oldfish's sound more on the dreamier official debut, room.ing.
While not marked as a new track, Drive from The Highlights on this album is not the same version as on their second album, Crazy, Drunken Rock n' Roll. This version's got a saxophon and a jazzier sound that I quite like, but with the jazzier vocals on this one I still like the album version more.
As they were featured on the first CD, I thought that perhaps Kite Operations was a new Pastel band I hadn't heard about. They're really from New York and signed on K.O.A. Records, however they all appear to be ethnic Koreans. I liked A Wonder already from the intro because of the guitar "flageoletts" (anybody know what they're called in English?) and it continues into a nice indie rock song with English lyrics. Expect a blogpost of mine on these guys as soon as I shape up and get back to writing them :p
CD.2
Fifteen more or less wellknown artists from Japan, North America, Scandinavia and Germany are featured on the second CD of this sampler. Their styles vary from electropop to shoegazer to folkpop but they all have great songs featured. While I enjoy the variation it reminds me more of a playlist with random good songs than a well composed album, but then it is a sampler CD.
My favorite songs are definitly
Strangers When We Meet and He Lay in Reins, but I'd say every song on here is at least good. Only one exclusive song on this CD: a live version of Maximilian Hecker's Lady Sleep. The music box of the album version is now a piano, but other than that there's no major difference - I think this version is even better!
I am very happy about getting this compilation, but I'd rather listen to the first CD (- Kite Operations) and the second CD (+ Kite Operations) separately than put both on the same playlist. The first CD does make a pretty nice introduction to Korean Pastel artists, but the Cracker soundtrack is even better in that purpose. The second CD provided me with an easy way to listen to many artists I've been meaning to check out for quite some time and I now have a better idea on where to start ^_^
