Manchester’s Pastel have forged a big reputation on their on their terms, landing #1 and #2 positions on the Official Vinyl Singles Chart for their two EPs and earning a personal invite to support the legendary Liam Gallagher at his gargantuan Knebworth Park show. Now the band cement their rising status with the news that their long-awaited debut album ‘Souls In Motion’ will be released on January 17th via Spirit of Spike Island.

‘Souls In Motion’ features several of the band’s fan favourites and live staples which have soundtracked their rise to date, including ‘Deeper Than Holy’, ‘Isaiah’, ‘Your Day’ and ‘Escape’. But it also presents a wealth of brand new music for fans to immerse themselves within, which further underlines their global-facing creative ambition.

Guitarist James Yates says, “‘Souls In Motion’ was written over a 12 month period, where after work, we’d lock ourselves in our basement rehearsal room of Bunkhouse to write an album we feel people have been waiting 20 years for. An album which hangs on the framework of our chequered upbringing in Manchester, and the positive dazed outlook we all now share.”

The album features the band’s current single ‘Leave A Light On (A Velvet Storm)’, which captures a different angle to the band. Stepping into slow-burning epic anthem territory, its plaintive piano and more melodic vocals from Jack Yates crafts an atmosphere which feels like a modern answer to The Rolling Stones’ ‘Let It Bleed’ era and The Verve circa ‘A Northern Soul’. It’s indicative of the band’s growing powers and broadening sonic palette, and the song’s cinematic scope is captured in its accompanying video. It was directed by their friend and long-term champion Charlie Lightening, who is best known for his film projects with Liam Gallagher, Paul McCartney and Kasabian.

Pastel wrote all of the songs on the album, which was produced by J. Fender (Afflecks Palace frontman and founder of Spirit of Spike Island) and mixed by James Kenosha.

‘Souls In Motion’ is now available to pre-order or pre-save HERE. The album will be released on CD and digital formats alongside a variety of exclusive formats. Spirit of Spike Island’s store offers a translucent sun coloured vinyl (signed copies are also available) and a limited edition cassette. An orange and yellow swirl vinyl Manchester edition is available from the city’s iconic Piccadilly Records and is limited to 1000 copies, and Rough Trade have an exclusive green vinyl format.

The album has already received a phenomenal fan reaction. Its first launch on socials via the Spirit of Spike Island mailing list saw the entire initial allocation snapped up in just five minutes.

‘Souls In Motion’ emerges as Pastel are about to enjoy a fresh spotlight moment. Jack and his cousin, guitarist James Yates, both cameo in the new ‘Trailer Park Boys’ film ‘Standing On the Shoulders Of Kitties’ which hits cinemas on December 6th and was directed by Charlie Lightening. They feature alongside big names such as Billy Bob Thornton and Ronnie Wood – see James pictured with The Rolling Stones’ icon HERE. Watch the trailer for the film HERE.

The Yates cousins vowed to start a band while travelling home from a Stone Roses gig. And they realised that ambition with the help of Joe Anderson (guitar), Liam O’Shea (bass) and Rhys Wheeler (drums) as they shared influences such as Shack, The Verve, Radiohead, The Charlatans, Blossoms, New Order and Ride. They debuted in 2020, and have since played an array of major festivals including the Isle of Wight, Dot To Dot, Victorious, Manchester Psych Festival and This Feeling By The Sea. They’ve also earned extensive radio support at 6 Music, Radio X and BBC Introducing, the latter of which included a set at The Hundred cricket tournament in front of a 15,000 capacity crowd.