I've been a huge fan of this Brazilian indiepop group from their very first self-released debut EP. They released a second EP and an album on Matinée soon after, but have remained silent ever since. This new batch of songs (their first in five years) finds the band continuing their style of Swedish-influenced indiepop; and when I say "Swedish-influenced", I'm referring more to the style of the mid '90s groups like Popsicle, the Honeymoons and Popundret than the recent indiepop explosion the country experienced. These songs sound more in like those bands than Pale Sunday's earlier work did, but only by the virtue of a better recording sound here. And apart from the title track, they're also slightly more subdued-sounding than the band's previous work, but it certainly didn't take long to fall in love with them all over again!   --IndiePages

 

I thought Pale Sunday were long gone, and so it's so it's great surpise to have them back. It's also nice to know that not much has changed. There's still Gustavo's shy, slight voice, and then chiming guitars, and the melancholy melodies. The title track is a gem, and perhaps the most commercial-sounding thing the band have ever done. The themes are still the same; unrequited love and all of that, but not many bands do it better. The other belter here is 'Before I Found You', which reminds me, lyrically and musically, of labelmates Math and Physics Club, with a touch of Siesta's louche, lounge-pop thrown in. 'Unknown Half' closes with a tale of one night stands and other such filth. Close your ears, mother, Pale Sunday are playing.   --A Layer of Chips

 

Us being us we gravitate towards the SINGLE first, and it's the new Pale Sunday outing. From Brincando de Deus' "An Evening Out" through to Postal Blue's recent re-entry into the pop stratosphere there's always been something *about* Brazilian guitar-pop for us, and the Sunday have demonstrated in the past their flair for uncloying but faithfully jangle-repping compositions. We rather adored their previous single, "A Weekend With Jane", including "The Girl With Sunny Smile" that turned this reviewer into Boy With Sunny Smile, and later tracks like the fizzed-up "White Tambourine" (on their "Summertime" LP) showed that early promise was no fluke. Now, an overlong silence is punctured by this "Shooting Star" EP, a four-tracker in "360 stereo sound". The title number is 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. As good, though, is "Are You Scared To Get Happy ?" which is just as well given that it shares the name of the best fanzine of all time, in the world, ever, BAR NONE. This particular AYSTGH? 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. Yeah, you can try and get big and clever and say how in 2010 people of our advanced age should have outgrown plain old indie-pop groovery, but in all honesty, if the right ingredients are there, resistance is useless. All in all then, yay. Cubed.   --In Love With These Times In Spite Of These Times

 

Pale Sunday are a Brazilian quartet who released a fine debut album Summertime way back in 2005 and absolutely nothing since! So it’s a pleasant surprise to discover the release of this EP in the early awakenings of the new decade. The band are another from the dream pop stable at Matinée, who seem to exude an abundance of international talent. The backbone of this EP is the unaggressive ascending jangly guitars, that you can’t help but link back to David Gedge, one of the eighties under acclaimed pioneers. Vocally, however, pale Sunday lack a little character and would certainly benefit from the pained style of said pioneer. On Are You Scared To Get Happy, the Weddos leanings are the strongest and it provides the best track of the quartet, with a sinister undercurrent of a bass to stop it from blowing away. Elsewhere, there are some lovely harmonies, with Unknown Half sounding like Teenage Fan Club at times. A set of decent tunes here though and hopefully indication of the band shaping up to launch another album…in 2015?   --Indie-mp3.co.uk

 

Summers here. OK, one look out of the window or a second without a cardigan on will prove that statement a lie, but you will be able to fool you ears with the Shooting Star EP by Pale Sunday. This is pop sunny side up, joyfully reminiscent of Teenage fanclub and BMX Bandits and even the early pop prowess of Super Furry Animals. The sun soaked title song of the EP can be downloaded from the link below. Try listening to it with out the smells of BBQ's and freshly cut grass wafting up your nostrils. Bet you can't.   --Brill Dream

 

Brazilian indie poppers Pale Sunday took a five-year break after the release of their 2005 album Summertime? The intervening years seem to have had no effect on the band’s sound whatsoever. Shooting Star sounds like it could have been recorded at the same sessions as Summertime?. The group still has the same wistfully jangling feel that will endear them to fans of classic groups like the Razorcuts, the same tenderly melancholy vocals, and a similarly pleasant manner. Over the course of an album, the consistency of the songwriting and uniformity of production is a bit much, but this four-song EP is much more successful. Any of the songs here would have been a highlight on Summertime?, especially the title track, which has a light and breezy feel that conjures up the sounds of Scotland circa 1991-1993. Not every band is cut out to make albums, and there’s no shame in sticking to singles and EPs. Especially when they are this solid.   --All Music Guide

 

It’s four years since we heard from Brazilian indie poppers Pale Sunday, with their album Summertime. On initial listens to this EP, it’s good to have them back. First track Shooting Star is bright and breezy pop, featuring a singer with a quite different, unassuming voice. He seems confident in himself, but he’s thankfully not a show off. Melodically it has the charm of The Lucksmiths, and the style to carry on where they left off. Are You Scared To Get Happy? takes the foot off the gas, but is effortlessly cool, a gentle hum of bass and a cool melody taking us there. The singer provides a lovely counterpart to the tune again, sighing his way beautifully through the vocals. Before I Found You reminds me of the melodies of Velvet Crush, those sun kissed tones, and is a beautiful thing indeed. Finally, Unknown Half could be a long lost Teenage Fanclub offcut, maybe even a demo of What You Do To Me. Sweet stuff indeed.   --Russell’s Reviews

 

Pale Sunday are back with a new Matinée Records release, bringing another splash of sunny cheer into your humdrum life with just four songs. These Brazilian indie-poppers outshine their jingle-jangly competition with their perfect harmonies and guitar-driven grooves that are so deep you'll fall in head first. Don't think I'm serious? Try "Before I Found You" on for size. Fans of The Lucksmiths, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and (of course) Teenage Fanclub will find this EP to be the perfect summer companion.   --75 or Less

 

If I was asked to tell you what country Pale Sunday came from, I’d probably get it wrong. I’d likely lean toward the US, the UK, or for an outside bet, somewhere like Sweden. Somewhere like Brazil wouldn’t even cross my mind. I’ve never really considered South America as somewhere indiepop would come out of, but Pale Sunday are seemingly doing their best to change that. Jangly guitars and harmonies are the order of the day here. If you’re familiar with other bands from the Matinée stable (Northern Portrait, Cats on Fire etc.), you know exactly what you’re getting here.   --Another Form Of Relief

 

Shooting Star features a song called "Are You Scared to Get Happy?" which perfectly wraps up everything Pale Sunday is about: While prodding an unnamed person outside of the song, the band urges this particular bummer-friend to shake off the hurt and move on with his life. At the same time, the band's blend of happy/sad guitar pop reminds us just how comfortable it can be to slip into a downhearted rut and stay there once you start enjoying being down in the dumps. It's the very crisis that's kept psychoanalysts in business and made pharmaceutical companies a heck of a lot of money, and Pale Sunday doesn't ever really work to try to resolve that flaw in the human condition on this four-song EP. Shooting Star is aurally testament to every ounce of self-sufficient melancholy that the human mind can whip up. It's downbeat and often glum. It usually gets pretty good at sounding if not outright happy about it, at least dignified enough to put a bold face on about it. The 13-minute blast of old-school indie pop is all about milking those happy/sad and jangly guitar formulas, and, as trite as that can get when mishandled, Pale Sunday does OK with its formula of choice. "Shooting Star" is a tribute to low-boiling guitar pop, with guitar arrangements set to steal the show from the sing-along, geek-pop vocals. "Unknown Half" leaves the jangle behind for old-fashioned, Big Muff-driven guitar while keeping its crushed-hope vocals in the formula. "Before I Found You" and "Are You Scared To Get Happy," respectively bounce between those two extremes. Pale Sunday never really commits to the glum thing or the happy world, but sitting right there in the middle for it seems to be working out OK.   --Aversion.com

 

2009 was a superb year for American indie-pop tribe the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, as they toured the UK to mostly sold out venues and their debut LP hit the upper reaches of many end of year polls. They also managed to put the whole C86 style scene firmly at the musical fore front again. Labels like the wonderful Matinée Recordings have championed the whole scene for years and released records by such cult indie stars as the Lucksmiths and Pale Sunday. While the Lucksmiths have recently called it a day, Pale Sunday have reformed and are back with a cracking collection of songs on this E.P. that would easily be at home in the company of the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Musically, both Pale Sunday and the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are equally indebted to the likes of Sarah Records’ stalwarts the Field Mice and the Orchids and the less abrasive moments of the Wedding Present. This is quite impressive in the case of Pale Sunday in light of the fact that they are from Brazil! Opening track 'Shooting Star' is the highlight with a real summer feel to it, but the remaining three are all worthy of repeated listens and could well lay the foundations for the band to emulate The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart success of 2009 in 2010.   --Pennyblack Magazine

 

In an effort to become the only member of ATH with a serious twee addiction, I bring you new tunes from the Brazilian group, Pale Sunday. This is the first new music we’ve gotten from the group since 2005’s Summertime. The warmth of the vocals in this tune, “Shooting Star,” make it perfect for this chilly winter day.   --Austin Town Hall

 

Pale Sunday, banda de Jardinópolis-SP vai lançar agora em dezembro via Matinée records o Ep Shooting Star. O disquinho vem com 4 faixas, e você pode ouvir a música que dá nome ao ep no myspace da banda, no youtube (versão ao vivo) e também na página da gravadora. A pegada é bem pop, daquele tipo que gira na sua cabeça o tempo inteiro. Acredito que o restante do ep segue essa linha. Não há firulas, influências obscuras ou a tentativa de reinventar a música. Pale Sunday segue a tradição do exercício da busca pelo pop perfeito dentro da cartilha de gente como Smiths, Field Mice e bandas da Creation. Para quem não conhece a banda, aí vai um breve histórico: eles começaram no fim dos anos 90. Participaram de várias coletâneas por selos gringos. Dentro dessas saíram alguns tributos como ao Field Mice e aos Smiths. A atual gravadora dos caras é a americana Matinée records, casa do Lovejoy, Lucksmiths e Pipas. A gravadora já lançou além dos eps e coletâneas o álbum de estréia do Pale Sunday. Uma curiosidade desse ep: uma das músicas chama "Are you scared to be happy?" Esse nome foi tirado do fanzine feito pelo povo da Sarah records, a gravadora adorada pelos fãs de indiepop do mundo inteiro.   --Biff Bang Pop!

 

I was looking forward to Pale Sunday’s new material. When I first listened to them on myspace –that must have been a couple of years ago– I instantly thought they represent indie pop (and all the Sarah references) in the best possible way. Oddly enough, Pale Sunday come from Brazil (from a city called Jardinopólis). They disbanded for a while but luckily they returned from the ashes with a new line-up and - what a delight!! - a new EP… their first release after debut album “Summertime?” in 2005, “Shooting Star” is out on Matinée. LOVE IT.   --Candy Bar

 

Una altra petita joia d’indie pop de la mà de la discogràfica nord-americana Matinée Recordings. Shooting Star és el nou EP de la formació brasilera Pale Sunday. El grup retorna als seus origens, els del A Weekend With Jane EP més propers a sonoritats que recorden els Teenage Fanclub o The Wannadies i menys shoegaze que el seu llarga durada Summertime?, publicant l’any 2005. El tema Shooting Star sona a Los Planetas dels primers temps, però amb una veu i harmonies més delicades en sintonia amb els grups de l’enyorada Sarah Records.   --Eufonies

 

Cancíon pop perfecta para empezar la semana. Shooting Star es el tema que da título al nuevo ep del cuarteto brasileño Pale Sunday. Editado en Matinée Recordings.   --Planeta Pop

 

Falar de uma de suas bandas favoritas nunca foi uma tarefa fácil, por isso tentarei evitar a rasgação de seda. Shooting Star EP segue a mesma linha de indie-pop praticado no debut Summertime de 2005 e reúne uma canção que considero (e espero piamente que isto aconteça) o hino pop alternativo para nós fãs brasileiros, "Are You Scared To Get Happy?" já é minha música favorita do Pale Sunday, em uma homenagem linda ao antalógico zine de 1985 de Matt Haynes, idealizador e co-fundador daquilo que viria a ser conhecido como Sarah Records.   --The Crystal Lake

 

Caer en el olvido es de lo más sencillo….y todavía lo es más en el mundo de la música, inmerso en un universo en el que la novedad nos asalta vía mp3 antes de que tengamos oportunidad de hacernos con un disco en su formato físico. Así las cosas, guardar fidelidad a una banda es un acto del que reniegan cada vez más personas. Afortunadamente por aquí las cosas son distintas, no es que tengamos una memoria excepcional, pero ésta es selectiva, y hay pequeños destellos de luz que quedan en nuestra mente a la espera de aflorar de nuevo cada poco tiempo. Estos destellos suelen estar protagonizados por minúsculas bandas, probablemente de tercera o cuarta fila (dicho esto sin ánimo peyorativo), que son las encargadas de dar sentido a una afición que poco a poco ha ido renegando de grandes estrellas, para pasar a concentrarse en personajes casi anónimos que en nuestro hogar tienen un protagonismo insospechado. Pale Sunday son uno de esos nombres anónimos (al menos para el 99% de los aficionados a esto del Pop independiente) que han sabido encontrar un hueco en nuestra vida. Puede que su música no esté destinada a cambiar ningún aspecto de nuestra existencia, pero lo cierto es que al repasar los lomos de todos esos compactos que pueblan nuestras estanterías, siempre hay tiempo para hacer un alto en los discos de la banda, y desde hace ya demasiados años tocaba lamentarse por la falta de noticias de estos brasileños que terminaron de conquistarnos con Summertime?, su único Lp hasta la fecha. Y es que esa mitomanía que el grupo cultivaba hacia los años dorados del Indie Pop logró que alumbraran unas grandísimas canciones que cinco años después siguen cautivándonos. Claro que Pale Sunday no cambiaron nuestra vida, como santísimas otras bandas, pero no menos cierto es que sus canciones siempre fueron una apuesta segura y fiable para mantener alto nuestro estado de ánimo. Pero lo cierto es que el tiempo pasa para todos, y demasiado era el que distaba desde aquel magnífico Summertime?, habiendo caído a estas alturas en la creencia de que Pale Sunday nunca más volverían a nosotros, pensamiento que los primeros días de este año se esfumó al llegarnos la noticia de que los brasileños volvían de la mano de su sello de siempre, Matinée Recordings. Si la dicha hubiera sido completa ahora mismo dispondríamos del segundo trabajo largo del grupo, pero parece ser que antes de poder hacernos con tan ansiado disco tendremos que conformarnos con un pequeño Ep. que colme nuestras ganas de saber. Y así es como llega a nuestras manos Shooting Star, la primera novedad de Pale Sunday en todo un lustro, con cuatro canciones que hacen que la espera haya merecido la pena, puesto que nos ponen al grupo justo allá donde les dejamos. Para empezar Shooting Star abre fuego con el objetivo de convertirse en la apuesta segura de este pequeño trabajo, y bien que lo logra, Shooting Star es una pequeña gema de la melodía. Inofensiva, como casi todo el repertorio de los de Jardinópolis, dulce, contagiosa…..en definitiva, un nuevo hit en el repertorio de grupo y sello. El optimismo y buen humor hacen acto de presencia al inicio de de este esperado trabajo, para trasladarnos más tarde a ambientes donde el ruido se convierte en soberano, Are You Scared To Get Happy? contiene guitarras al más puro estilo Teenage Fanclub, eso dice la hoja promocional de Matinée, pero lo cierto es que aquí más que a los de Glasgow lo que vemos es que la afición de Pale Sunday por el Indie Pop no está reñida con el gusto por todos aquellos chicos que creaban ruido mirándose los zapatos. Pero bueno, para encauzar de nuevo las cosas está Before I Found You, un nuevo ejemplo de que si Pale Sunday hubieran existido unos años antes ahora estaríamos hablando de una de las piezas cruciales de ese Indie Pop inocentón que marcó los primeros años 90’s. Shooting Star (el Ep.), en su modestia, colma y justifica la espera de tanto tiempo, sin olvidar la propia naturaleza del disco, esta es, la de ser un previo de la verdadera continuación de Summertime?, y por eso contiene piezas reseñables que a buen seguro no cabrían en un Lp, y ahí es donde adquiere su verdadero valor, especialmente para los completistas, que comprenderán perfectamente que Unknown Half cierre este Ep., porque es probable que esa mezcla de sonidos que lo protagonizan no sean más que una prueba de lo que el futuro pudiera ser, algo que muchos grupos han olvidado a hacer en estos tiempos en los que la experimentación, probablemente fallida, llega a Lp’s sin haber pasado por filtros previos como los que este grupo sí sabe emplear. Poco más cabe añadir, al menos sobre el grupo, pero sí querríamos dejar claro nuestro cariño por el modo en el que Matinée sigue revalorizando un formato en apariencia tan antipático como el del Cd-Ep, haciendo que cada una de sus nuevas publicaciones en este formato se conviertan automáticamente en obras de adquisición más que obligada, y Shooting Star no va a ser ninguna excepción al buen hacer del sello de Santa Bárbara.   --360º de Separación

 

Varias de las últimas entradas están siendo protagonizadas por grupos del catálogo de Matinée, el sello Californiano que más frescura está aportando en este primer trimestre del año. En esta ocasión vamos a hablar de los brasileños Pale Sunday los cuales acaban de publicar un nuevo ep; "Shooting Star". Pale Sunday cargan a sus espaldas más de veinte años haciendo canciones y son grandes admiradores de los catálogos de Sarah Records y Creation. Sus cuatro nuevas canciones dejan entrever esa veteranía e influencias de las que hablamos. Merece la pena la escucha de canciones como "Shooting Star" y "Are You Scared To Get Happy?", estamos seguros de que os van a gustar.   --Avec La Participation De