Pale Sunday first came into my life when their glorious 'A Weekend with Jane' ep shimmied its way through my letterbox almost a decade ago amidst a period of serious upheaval. It's fair to say that back then it was a ray of light, and the band have remained that way since. Even when they let me down by not turning up for Indietracks the year before last. It's easy to forget Pale Sunday, to be honest; stuck in Brazil they've never toured Europe, and so it's left to my good comrade Jimmy at Matinée Recordings to keep in touch with them, and put their records out now and again. 'The Fake Stories About You and Me' is Pale Sunday's strongest release since those nascent days of 2003, with four songs that, whilst hardly tread a new path, are definitely more confident, rounded, and affecting that at most times since that first Matinée release. 'Happy (When You Lived Here)' is a fair heartbreaking tale of broken relationships and starting over - but ultimately hope, and it's that hope that almost makes the guitars break loose at times. Pale Sunday are too cute for that, of course, and the melancholy harmonies return. It's a majestic three minutes, but it's probably best you don't listen to it if you're having a hard time at home. 'About Your Life' perhaps should've been the lead track, but who cares where it is; I'm just glad it's here. Built around a guitar riff that will worm its way into your life for days and days, it's just thing to perk you up after the bitterness of the previous track and hints at a love of Teenage Fanclub or mid-period Ride.'That's the Way' further illustrates a love of early-90s guitar manglers and is all the better for it (it even goes a bit shoegaze on the fade out), whilst Pale Sunday revert to type on 'The Winter Song' - a paean to the shortest day, and perhaps one of those clever metaphors about change and upheaval and all that jazz. Like everything about indiepop, it's a small miracle that this record exists at all, but it does and that's wonderful. Here's hoping Pale Sunday continue to soundtrack the lives of people everywhere.   --A Layer of Chips

 

If we had a pound for every Pale Sunday release over the past decade we'd have... well, barely enough to buy a pint: the estimable Jardinopólis, São Paulo quartet don't exactly deluge their devotees with new material. So, because having new Pale Sunday "product" to review doesn't happen every day, please allow us to reminisce a little first. When they released their first Matinée EP, "A Weekend With Jane" in 2003 we branded it "tight, focused, jangly indie, drawing much from the pristine international tradition of compatriots brincando de deus as well as the european likes of brideshead and aerospace" … and on re-listening to it now that doesn't seem unfair: there's a definite post-Sarah thing going on, plus the reassuring drum machine thwack of many a blazin' indie-pop tune over the years. Mind you, that's only the half of it: for every time we cop an earful of the hooks on the title track or on the closing "Girl With Sunny Smile" we have to be physically restrained from hailing a cab to the airport, stowing away on a plane to South America and trying to find and bear-hug everyone who's ever had anything to do with Pale Sunday. Next, in 2005, came the group's only full-length to date, "Summertime ?" (not-Porgy & Bess inspired!) although with unedifying negligence we managed, as far as I can tell, not to review the LP at all, only managing a few words instead on its touchpaper-lighting first track, "The White Tambourine": "a song made not by its happily sherbet verses, but by the exhilarating bursts of noise that then kick in, at just the right time.” Yet immersing ourselves in the album again we realise that we really shouldn't have left it at that. Yes, we still worship at the altar of "The White Tambourine", because even now those extra injections of guitar tend to knock us sideways (forget the icing on the cake, they're more like an extra cake, with icing, on top of the icing on the already-delicious cake). But other morsels on show, like "Mary" and the nr-anthemic "Never Fall Apart", are just as tastily tuneful (and could easily have led off EPs in their own right). The Sunday then went AWOL awhile, as we understand it splitting up and re-forming before the "Shooting Star" EP appeared a couple of years ago. With that record came the underpinnings of a more polished sound, the title track in particular being the closest they'd come to summer radio staple: "newly confident, a strident, riproaring popsong which combines the necessary "we're back!" feel with a whiff of mid-period BMX Bandits and a pleadingly naive protagonist ("I can prove to you I'm different / if you'll just give me a chance": she'll have heard that before, matey). It's fizzy, instant and satisfying" 'tho the accompanying "Are You Scared To Get Happy ?" garnered still higher plaudits: "seamlessly interweaves the coursing indiepop melodies of halcyon days past with a little more good ol' fash fuzzy six-string strum, and the "downhill" section to the end, which repeats the title whilst accumulating some lovely string-like harmonies along the way, is pure gold." So that's the potted history. Now, bounding over a grateful horizon, comes "The Fake Stories About You And Me", a new and intriguingly-titled four-course serving of Pale Sunday's ever-vibrant, sun-tinged indie-pop. It's also the third of Matinée's hat-trick of soaraway, super sunny summer singles (on the heels of the Bart and Friends and Charlie Big Time EPs). The lads certainly land on their feet with opening salvo "Happy (When You Lived Here)". While it doesn't pack quite the hit parade-punch of "Shooting Star", we'd back our past analogies and say there are shades of Creation-era BMX Bandits on this one too, although we appreciate that our Bandits comparisons perhaps elide into the Teenage Fanclub ones being deployed elsewhere. Lyrically, singer Luiz Gustavo plays a once-conscientious man driven to cigarettes, alcohol and bunking off work by his girlfriend's untimely upping of sticks, although despite a nagging fear during the song that he's going to end up in the Priory (or worse), it thankfully ends on an upbeat note when he realises that he's just going to have to dust himself down and get on with it. Atta boy, Luiz: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. "About My Life" follows and in some ways it's a more obvious 'sell' to indie-pop pickers: a buzzing guitar line quickly gains traction, and while the 90s sound of young(ish) Scotland rings most smilingly from the speakers, there's also - hurrah! - a chugging soupcon of '00s Wedding Present guitar. The third tune, "That's The Way", initially feels a bit throwaway, and the lyrical references to "getting high" seem decidedly retro, but the verses are just as driving as those on "About My Life" and the only shame really is that just as the song is properly getting into its stride (embarking on a glorious slightly-shoegaze instrumental section which resembles the Beatnik Filmstars circa "Laid Back And English") a studio engineer with a grudge decides to fade it out. Oy! Then it's over almost as soon as it began, because before we know it the EP is waving us off at the station with a soul-soother, "The Winter Song", a stripped-down and delicate number urging optimism in hard times, and bolstered by a gorgeous wash of strings. There's an elegant piano melody too which, unfolding itself so late in the EP, recalls how "Strangeways", the final track on their album, was similarly illuminated by mellifluous piano tones. (Us being us, we also think of the piano that so wonderfully encroached on Brighter's "Summer Becomes Winter", and fantasise that "The Winter Song" could be a nod to Brighter's "A Winter's Tale" flexi: failing that, there are definitely hints of Harper Lee at play, so if "Summer's Day" was Electric Pop Group's Keris Howard tribute, then perhaps "The Winter Song" is Pale Sunday's). Regardless of its precise influences, though, the song is a little gem, one that twinkles crisply through the curtain of the night sky. Looking at all their records in the round, "The Fake Stories..." is definitely Pale Sunday's most mature and focussed EP yet (the vocals have a newfound confidence too, with the titbits of falsetto feeling almost disturbingly contemporary) but the subtle shifts in style over time are a good thing, particularly as we were running out of synonyms for "fizz" and "fuzz". Were it not for the fact that we'd sworn a solemn oath not to bang on about random Braziliana in Pale Sunday reviews anymore, we'd now be explaining how they mean even more to us than "Refuse / Resist", "Roots Bloody Roots" and Josimar. Instead, we're going to treat ourselves to that pound for each Pale Sunday outing, and we're going to buy that pint, and raise a glass to them. Each time they've managed to get a new record out over that last ten years, it's lit up an otherwise grey day several thousand miles away, here in the English city. A toast is the least their persistence deserves.   --In Love With These Times In Spite Of These Times

 

Brazilian indiepop band Pale Sunday have been consistently producing the goods for a decade now with most of their releases on US label Matinée Recordings. These include 2010's Shooting Star EP which is one of my favourite releases that the label has put out to date. The band draw their inspiration from what is now lazily referred to as the C86 sound whether that would be on Sarah Records circa 1988 or found on Swedish labels like Labrador two decades later. Normally I would deride a band whose sound has remained somewhat static for a decade but thankfully The Fake Stories About You And Me EP is more of the same. If you like fuzzy shimmering pop music about unrequited love then you are in the right place. Opener Happy (When You Lived Here) features delicious harmonies teaming up with Gustavo's melancholic vocals that excel at storytelling (oh er pun alert!). The guitar on About Your Life sound like they were lifted from The Shop Assistants Big E Power but that's no bad thing as the song buzzes along somewhat nicely. That's The Way starts off as a generic indiepop song but it soon gets going and you are soon nodding, blissfully unaware, along. It's on the gentler songs that the band excel and The Winter Song is no exception. I am not sure what winters are like in Brazil but I am not sure they're as beautiful as this melodic, sentimental and almost orchestral closer complete with mournful vocals and strumming guitar. Whilst there is nothing new soundwise here (if it ain't broke) The Fake Stories About You And Me EP is a rather fine EP which is definitely worth listening to.   --Sounds XP

 

Brazilian indiepop masters Pale Sunday offer up four splendid examples of their genre with new EP 'The Fake Stories About You And Me'. The list of references and bands they recall might be a long one but they choose their influences well and write songs that would brighten up a lot of the records they've evolved from. 'Happy (When You Lived Here)' is a typical fey, floppy-fringed jangle that might as well have been written in a Glasgow bedsit in 1986. The melody could be lifted from an early Belle & Sebastian track, it's a song that spans generations of guitar-pop and you'll find echoes of your favourite Swedish, C86-influenced group in there - whoever they might be. There's a touch more muscle on 'About Your Life' and the guitars, with something almost approaching a riff, are allowed to buzz like Teenage Fanclub with softer vocals. 'That's The Way' is maybe the least impressive until it unveils a chorus that lifts the whole song. Perfect EP closing material is delivered with the maudlin 'The Winter Song' with its sentimental lyrics and crisply strummed guitar, later to be joined by subtle strings, just enough to take things up a notch or two. You can definitely see where the Wannadies comparisons come from, and if you only know them for 'You & Me Song' then you're truly missing out and need to investigate further. After you've given this Pale Sunday EP a few dozen plays that is.   --The Sound of Confusion

 

This is the latest EP from Brazilian indie pop band, Pale Sunday. 'Happy (When You Lived Here' is a crystal-clean and sharp-sounding Rickenbacker fresh pop number, which is a very jangly attack on the ears that Belle And Sebastian could only wish they might achieve in a life time. 'About Your Life' is a hand-in-hand lovely piece of summer-flavoured indie pop, a put-down-your-pint, put-your-handbag-on-the-floor number and one to dance to celebrate life in all its glory, It is harder-edged than the British variety of indie pop, but a total joy from start to finish. 'That's the Way' is another happy track, which sounds like Orange Juice having the party of their lives. 'The Winter Song' ends the EP, and is like a well-executed Field Mice track, a song to warm you up and, like the rest of this EP, absolutely perfect.   --Pennyblack Magazine

 

You can put all your preconceived notions about music in Brazil to the side now. Pale Sunday are nothing like CSS or Bonde Do Role. While I appreciate the regional flavor of those acts, The Fake Stories About You and Me seems so distant; it’s an album of pristine guitar pop in the realm of bands like Lucksmiths or Nada Surf–it’s somewhere in the middle there. It’s a short EP, but “Happy (When You Lived Here)” is perhaps going to be one of my favorite guitar tracks of the year; it’s easiest the best track from the band that I’ve heard to date. Luis’ voice sounds incredible here; it’s calm and cool, yet there’s a smoothness that coincides with the rest of the music. Everyone else’s accompaniment fits perfectly into the track, from the backing vocals to the steady propulsive drum beat. So good; I wish everyone would write tracks like this. “About Your Life” seems a little bit more straightforward in the vein of classic pop songs. The guitars aren’t quite as clean here, and the synths provide an extra element to the background. I can’t quite put my finger on what makes this song so familiar, but I put it all down to Luis Gustavo’s voice. In contrast to the casual cool of the EP’s opener, here he sounds a bit softer, yet more distant in the mix. It might seem like I’m not enthused by the difference, but I assure you that I’m having a hard time not playing this track over and over. Screw it. I’m playing all four songs constantly. Pale Sunday gives a bit of a bouncing drum roll on “That’s the Way,” giving the third track a bit of swagger and swing. It’s a song about getting high with a friend or loved one, feeling lost in an emotional sense. Towards the end of the song it sort of careens with guitar work that sort of bursts into a solo…perhaps providing the listener with that feeling of taking off into the far out realms of one’s mind. When The Fake Stories About You and Me came to a close with “The Winter Song” I was taken aback at first. It’s a song focused on strummed guitar, and a different pop appeal than the previous tracks. For me, it seems a lot more thoughtful, as if the band intended to leave you with a departing note about how we should go on with our lives. I like the way there’s a musical emphasis from the rest of the group that seems to arrive just after the 2 minute mark. It’s a gorgeous track, and one that’s a fitting end to this EP. Just as it ends, you want more, which might be my only detractor here, but with songs this good, Pale Sunday isn’t going anywhere any time soon. I’m grateful for that.   --Austin Town Hall

 

I make quite an effort to keep my eyes and ears open for that great indie guitar pop sound. I'm accustomed to finding it in Scotland, England, Sweden, Finland, California, Seattle, New Zealand, Australia, and even Singapore (if you haven't listened to Obedient Wives Club, you are missing a treat). But we get by with a little help from our friends (phrase trademarked by Rocksteady74 LLC), and in this case, the friend is Jimmy at Matinée Recordings. Thanks to Jimmy, we know about Pale Sunday -- A Brazilian power pop/twee pop four piece whose ‘The Fake Stories About You and Me’ EP continues Matinée Recordings' 2012 string of high quality releases. Happy (When You Lived Here) is a lovely, jangly melody that may remind you Belle & Sebastian both in sound and in melancholic sentiments. The robust guitars and plaintive vocals of the second and third tracks, About Your Life and That's the Way, earn fair comparisons to Teenage Fanclub's powerpop portfolio. The EP closes with the gentle Winter Song, on which piano and strings are added to the accompaniment. Pale Sunday has chosen its influences well, and executed its own interpretation of the genre in an excellent and affecting fashion. And their shimmering pop arrangements and warm harmonies make ‘The Fake Stories About You and Me’ EP a perfect record for your summer collection.   --When You Motor Away

 

Matinée Recordings strikes back! Pale Sunday is another amazing band discovered from their great catalogue. They say they are from Brazil, but I bet you'll think this is a forgotten band from Scotland’s finest hour, or Sarah Records, the first time you hear their music. This is perfect jangly indiepop that will immediately make you nostalgic or euphoric. It’s shiny, warm and addictive. "The Fake Stories About You and Me" is their latest EP, just out now, but like me, I'm sure four gorgeous tunes won't be enough…so I have more good news for you. The band has been active since 2003! So many songs to enjoy!   --Bloodbuzzed

 

One of the nice things about the Matinée label is that once Jimmy signs a band (Jimmy Tassos, label head) it’s for the long haul and unless the band breaks up, you can almost guarantee several releases. That includes this now long-running Brazilian pop band. On the label this band has now released 3 eps and a full-length (their debut being the A WEEKEND WITH JANE ep from 2003). The four songs on this new ep aren’t a real departure or anything but showcase what the band does best: create, breezy, jangly pop (like a lot of the Matinée roster does). Opening cut “Happy (when you lived here)” is a perfect opener: cozy vocals and killer melodies while cut #2, “About Your Life” has gotten a lot of comparisons to Teenage Fanclub and I can’t say it’s not accurate (fine with me, I love them) . The final two songs, “That’s The Way” and “The Winter Song” are both up to snuff as well (especially the more rockin’ former). There are a few U.S. pop labels out there where you don’t have to even question the quality and Matinée is definitely one of them (Slumberland, Shelflife and Magic Marker are a few others). Buy with confidence.   --Dagger

 

Low-key vox overlaying jangly and melodic summershine music in the vein of The Smithereens, Two Pound Planet and The Ocean Blue. Heavy guitar-driven vibe and delicious twists and turns before each signpost to keep this pilgrim bopping and grinning! Pale Sunday’s new ep “The Fake Stories About You and Me” is now available and it is four tracks of sonic goodness.   --Heroes of Indie Music

 

Beautiful singing, perfect drums and wonderful guitars, this is Pale Sunday, an amazing Brazilian-based indiepop outfit celebrating yesterday, July 9th, the release of a brand new EP entitled “The Fake Stories About You and Me” on Matinée Recordings. Listen to the gorgeous opening track ‘Happy (When You Lived Here)’ also available to free download. Enjoy it!!   --Studio 11

 

A blog favourite Pale Sunday returns with a new EP entitled The Fake Stories About You and Me. They are a great Brazilian indie pop group and I really loved their early releases Weekend With Jane EP (2003) and Summertime? album (2005). Based on the opening track of the new EP Happy (When You Lived Here), the band is still more than capable of creating magnificent indie pop tunes. The Fake Stories About You and Me was released by the wonderful Matinée Recordings and is already available directly from the label.   --One Chord To Another

 

It’s already been a great year for our friends over at Matinée Recordings, having released the new Cats on Fire and several great EPs. And they’re at it again with a new EP from Brazil’s Pale Sunday. The title for the release is The Fake Stories About You and Me, and you can grab it from the label right now. Gentle pop music seems to be the group’s specialty, and you can see similarities to the great Teenage Fanclub, but personally I think that things on this listen are a lot softer–in an endearing way of course. Find yourself falling in love with this new track…it’s easy to do.   --Austin Town Hall

 

Os paulistas do Pale Sunday estão de volta depois de um bom tempo. O último lançamento havia sido o EP “Shooting Star”, de 2010, pela Matinée Recordings, a mesma que banca agora o novo EP, “The Fake Stories About You And Me”. Luiz Gustavo (baixo e vocais), Sineval (guitarra), Tiago Fuzz (guitarra & sintetizador) e AZ (bateria e vocais) continuam com a ótima pegada teenagefanclubiana que encantou o mundo (literalmente) com o “Summertime?”, discaço de 2005. São apenas quatro faixas, mas já é ótimo pra quem vinha esperando por todo esse tempo.   --Floga-SE

 

Ma che bello, sono ancora in giro i Pale Sunday! Band brasiliana che, a dispetto della provenienza, negli anni passati ci aveva regalato autunnali melodie debitrici di Byrds e Teenage Funclub. Dai tempi di Summertime? (oddio, del duemilacinque?!?!) li avevo persi un po' di vista ma The Fake Stories About You and Me, il loro nuovo ep su Matinée, li ritrova in forma come sempre. Ad anticipare l'uscita, giusto in tempo per l'angoletto malinconico dei vostri nastroni estivi.   --Polaroid

 

Após dois anos de espera desde o lançamento do elogiadíssimo “Shooting Star”, o Pale Sunday de Luiz Gustavo (baixo e vocais), Sineval (guitarra), Tiago Fuzz (guitarra e sintetizador) e AZ (bateria e vocais) nos brinda com mais uma pérola de total relevância para o mundo dos bons sons com o mais novo EP de quatro faixas intitulado ”The Fake Stories About You And Me”. O novo trabalho tem lançamento via Matinée Recordings e segue firme sua sua verve Twee-pop, C86 e indie-pop características do quarteto, exalando influências diretas de Teenage Fanclub, The Vaselines e Belle And Sebastian através de canções melancólicas em harmonias totalmente envolventes. ”The Fake Stories About You And Me” é um exercício eficaz para o alívio da mente e coração. A trilha sonora perfeita para esquecer o caos e a correria sempre presentes na vida urbana moderna.   --Ride Into The Sound

 

Pale Sunday, son un cuarteto Brasileño enamorados del pop de finales de los 80 y principios de la siguiente década, habiendo sido comparados con bandas como Teenage Fanclub, The Wannadies o Another Sunny Day. Vamos, que lo suyo es el pop con mayúsculas, luminoso y cristalino, algo que ya han demostrado en varios Eps y un largo, editados desde sus comienzos en el año 2003, y que vuelven a hacer con su nuevo Ep, "The Fake Stories About You And Me", trabajo disponible el próximo 24 de Julio en el selllo Matinée Recordings, casa donde han publicado todos sus discos hasta la fecha.   --Stereo Pills