Unsigned Spotlight: Pastel Faces
Hitting the sweet spot between melodic hardcore and pop-punk, Pastel Faces brandish a technical sword whilst landing blows with their emotionally charged lyricism and potent pop-punk choruses.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Jonathan “Jonno” (main vocalist), Antonio (guitar/vocals), Taylor (bass), Dillon (drums)
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Pastel Faces? How long has the band been around?
Antonio used to be in a metalcore band called “Liars Start Fires”, Dillon joined not long after and it eventually disbanded and reformed with just the two as “A Moment Alive”.. We realized we needed another vocalist and a bassist to continue this project, which then led to meeting Jonno and he recruited Taylor not long after. This is surprisingly Jonno and Taylor’s first band, which makes an interesting juxtaposition in terms of experience.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
This band officially debut in 2021 with our single “Deadweight”. The origin of the band name started off from designing a moodboard for determining our aesthetic and artwork. We individually picked out our own and slowly narrowed everything down to a final set of images. Antonio had an 80’s retro design on his board which had pastel colors that just made the name stand out.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
For the most part, Antonio. He’s the guy who generally writes the guitar structure and lyrics. The main themes and topics he writes about pertain to mental health. But he also writes about thing’s the band are collectively interested in like video games, and anime, which we’re sure many others can relate to.
These topics will for sure change overtime as we tend to find things day by day that fit our interests and bounce that idea back to Antonio to create a lyrical representation from it.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Collectively, we’re all over the place in terms of inspiration whether it’s posthardcore/melodic hardcore bands like Counterparts, Silverstein or Pierce the Veil. But we also take inspiration from lofi artists like Nujabes, and even indie bands like Two Door Cinema Club.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
I think the entire Warped Tour scene was a big thing for us. Just going to a show and seeing that many amazing bands at one time really makes you want to play music.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …
We do a pre-show ritual of 10 squats. It started off as a sort of joke, but now it would feel wrong if we don’t do them before we play.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
The biggest highlight so far is finishing our debut EP Blossom. We’ve been working on it for the past year and it feels really good to finally be able to put it out into the world.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
We’re going to put together two tours. One being heavier than the other because we have the ability to fit in with two different types of lineups
The less heavy tour would be: Silverstein, Neck Deep, Trophy Eyes playing Chemical Miracle, and Origami Angel.
The heavier tour would be: Counterparts, Between the Buried and Me, a really cool band called mnmlst (pronounced minimalist) that sadly broke up recently, and Turnstile.
It seems like every show we play we’ve either been the heaviest band or the least heavy band and these lineups reflect that.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thanks for having us! Our debut EP, Blossom is out Friday May 19th.