At long last, Glasgow indie pop icons the Pastels have announced a new record, Slow Summits, out May 27 in the UK and May 28 in the U.S. via Domino. This is the band's first full-length record since 1997's Illumination, following their 2009 collaborative album with Japan's Tenniscoats.
A press release notes the band members' other recent musical endeavors have left a mark on the new album, including a 2003 soundtrack for the film The Last Great Wildnerness, and music for a theater production.
Slow Summits was recorded in Glasgow by the band's core duo of Stephen McRobbie and Katrina Mitchell, with contributions from Tom Crossley, Norman Blake and Gerard Love of Teenage Fanclub, Alison Mitchell, John Hogarty, original Pastel Annabel "Aggi" Wright, and Tenniscoats, composer Craig Armstrong, and members of To Rococo Rot. John McEntire of Tortoise and the Sea and Cake co-produced and mixed the album.