Many wonderful, overlooked indie bands from the 1980s inspire slavish worship, and the Pastels are certainly among them — they count Belle and Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub and the Magnetic Fields among their adherents. But few inspired the degree of devotion that resulted in musical death threats. In 1991, Washington, D.C.'s fantastic Black Tambourine released “Throw Aggi Off the Bridge,” a love letter to Pastels leader Stephen McRobbie and playful threat to his bandmate, Annabel “Aggi” Wright. Such was the power of the Pastels: even their stalkers were charming and witty.

Truckload is a decent introduction to the Pastels'shambolic, amateurish sound. What saved them from being just another C86 band with electric guitars and a falling-apart-at-the-seams rhythm section was the vocals: Stephen McRobbie (later Stephen Pastel) wasn't all that strong of a singer, and Aggi was barely much better. But their songs are warmed by an entrancing sincerity, much like Calvin Johnson's heart-on-his-sleeve Beat Happening days. It's rarely precious, not with the strident, surging strums of “Crawl Babies” or the disco backbeat and wailing guitar of “Baby Honey.” “Nothing to be Done” is one of the all-time great indie love tunes, Stephen… read more »