I am a native of Chicagoland, and have lived in the area for roughly fifteen years of my life. It was roughly around 2010, though, that I fell in love with my local scene. At the time, I had just discovered heavier music, and bands like Sworn In, Villains (later known as Yuth Forever), and Victims (now VCTMS) were feverishly taking their place, filling up house shows and small venues. It was a sign that a band didn’t need to have thousands of fans to make a significant impact.

Now, at the end of the decade, due to me moving around a lot, I’ve lost touch with this scene. That is, until I saw a post from Tom Aparici, guitarist of the scene’s now-defunct Prospects, post about his new band, Muted Color. Their debut single, “Glued to the Floor”, piqued my interest from its vibrant art, and I was immediately hooked by the jovial shoegaze that accompanied the video. Since that release in mid-2018, I’ve been aching for more Muted Color.

It took a while, but Muted Color finally released Pastel in June of 2019. Production duties were handled by Sam Bottner, another staple of the Chicagoland music scene, who was previously in Barrier. This record, brimming with dream-pop riffs and forlorn heartache is a brief listen at 18 minutes, but has plenty of replayability. Unlike the previous shoegaze band I covered, Greet Death, Muted Color is more romantic and fanciful.

Pastel starts off with the leisurely “Anybody Else”; to give you an idea of how vocals don’t kick in until about 40 seconds, with soft ambience introducing the listener to a calm, relaxed environment. Every song on this album exudes a sense of comfort, with the otherworldly guitar feedback to how thin the snare hits are in the percussion. The bpm of each song is significantly different, but the consistency of the guitar tones and reverberation of the vocals maintain the placid nature of the EP.

The lyrical content of the album is quite lovelorn, and hearkens to similar bands in the genre, such as Turnover. “Daisy Chain” features the lyrics “I’ll be blue if it makes you happy; in my mind I am trapped in; all because I was scared; this wouldn’t happen,” which is a telling sign of the leaps and lengths the singer would go to for a potential lover. “Glued to the Floor”, the other single from the band, expands on this sentiment: “Slow down baby, all she keeps saying; let’s keep later and I’m still waiting.” The pace established in the lyrics echoes the meticulous pace set by the instruments that back them.

Muted Color is off to a strong start with Pastel. Musicians that have fleshed out their skills, married to the tight production from Sam in the Botcave, make for a memorable debut. Muted Color also has a great live show, and I can appreciate when a band can match their performance from record to the stage. A full-album is desperately needed for this act, as I hope this is the beginning of an impactful career.

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