We wrote about pastel, the recording project of LA’s Gabriel Brenner, last year when covering the evocative EP, absent, just dust. The release was experimental in sound and ambitious in nature, Brenner exploring the Native American experience in both a historical and contemporary context. At once beautiful and unsettling, the confusion of sounds and wordless voices formed a “sonic representation of the silencing faced by Native peoples, the razing not just of buildings or cultures but the very language with which such destruction could be described.”
Now, pastel is back with a brand new single, ‘close’. A tender love song, the track sees a move away from the stark atmosphere of the previous release, refocusing on a rich pop sound that would be at home amongst the chart toppers. Which isn’t to say that Brenner has completely sacrificed the ambient textures. The track cycles through a series of sounds, with several periods conjuring an soaring soundscape. Indeed, Brenner plays with and juxtaposes various states—quiet and loud, simple and intricate—moving from intimate acapella whispers to full expansive swells and back again, and thus capturing the whole gamut of emotions felt within a newfound love.
You can grab ‘close’ now from the pastel Bandcamp page, as well as the entirety of the back catalogue.