Customer Reviews

Pains of Being Pure at Heart

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Oddly, this American band from NYC is listed under Amazon's British Alternative new releases section but it's rather fitting as they bear a resemblence to some great acts from the late 80's/early 90's UK music scene. You can hear a little My Bloody Valentine in the track Contender, The Smiths in Stay Alive, and the Jesus and Mary Chain in Gentle Sons. I'm not sure if the band was directly influenced by previously mentioned artists, but I really like the sounds they are mining. Fuzz infused pop jingles that get your head bobbing. Check out Young Adult Friction or Stay Alive as a starting point and if that suits you, you'll probably like the rest of the record. Although the album lacks some variety in terms of tempo and instrumentation, it's a very cohesive collection from a new band that I hope to hear more of in the future.

The Wall of Sound-meets-distortion tones of the Jesus & Mary Chain. The reverb-drenched, dreamy pop of Echo & the Bunnymen. The lisped, twee vocals of Belle & Sebastian. If you've ever loved these features of the aforementioned bands, odds are in the "certain to very certain" range that you'll hold a special place for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart as well.

The guitar reverb and synthesizers scream "1980's mopey shoegaze" but they're contradicted by a vibrant rhythm section driving home every peppy tune. The vocals are purposely buried low in the mix, so good luck deciphering them (although their label, Slumberland Records, provides a lyric sheet on their website).

The four piece out of Brooklyn, NY have seized upon a highly effective formula and wrote ten highly catchy songs around it. Adventurous? No. A fine debut record? Yes.

This is simply a great album. I'm already looking forward to what they come up with next.

My experience with a lot of indie music is that it takes a few spins to sink in. This is usually a result of the fact that the artists have so much leverage to do what they want, which gives them the ability to come up with new and far-out ideas. My ears aren't usually ready for what they're hearing. It goes kind of like this: first listen: "this is interesting"; second listen: "I'm really liking this" *foot begins to tap to the beat*; third listen: "How could I live without this?!"

Well, this album elicited the same reaction, although I must admit that it doesn't even take "a few spins" to sink in. The music is almost immediately catchy, different, and exciting.

We need more bands like this one.

For anyone who loved the noise pop of the late 80s/early 90s, this is your album. TPoBPaH seem to pull from bands like My Bloody Valentine, the Lemonheads and Joy Division to create something familiar, but almost perfect in its execution. I can't seem to get the volume for "Come Saturday" loud enough. You just want to blast it out of your speakers as loud as you can. One or two songs on the CD fall short of greatness, but overall this is a solid first record and a great band to watch.

Heard these guys on Sirius-U the other morning and instantly though of early LUSH and Jesus and Mary Chain. In today's world of scream-O, cookie-cutter corporate-compositions, TPoBP has provided as welcomed relief to this child of the 90s.

I can see the purists don't want this album compared to the 90's shoegaze greats (MBV, Lush, Ride, Pale Saints, etc)
but there is a definite link I hear. However I get more of a Feelies vibe (brilliant 80's jangle pop band)
But the thing I am totally diggin (and saves them from the also-rans) is their melodic sense in these tunes. Thats
where I hear the Smiths and Sundays influence. This album is so damn catchy... anyone into the bands I mentioned
should give them a chance. I just ordered the EP, hope it's as good as the album.

As if My Bloody Valentine forgot to release a late 80s collection of songs. A warm guitar buzz imbues everything, nice standard backbeats and softly sung lyrics take you back (if you're old enough) to about - oh mid 80s - to 1990ish. It's refreshing to have bands producing instrument driven music, and I have been surprised by very likable rock songs on this album. It's a little too gentle and dreamy for my tastes which in my middle age have turned to less predictable aural pleasures, but if you like this you might try the aforementioned "shoe-gaze" bands of those years (Telescopes come to mind) but also more recent Deerhoof material.

Some people will always claim that the noisy pop era (Field Mice, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Lush...) they used to know cannot be topped and that the Pains of Being Pure at Heart are just a band of followers /imitators that haven't created anything. Sure. Do not believe them. I am pretty confident that if this record had been released 20 years ago, it would have been a pillar of the movement and shown today as emblematic of that very period of time. The melodies are terribly catchy, the format of the song is just short enough so the only option is to replay them immediatly and their sound has the perfect grain to give sheavers to any distorded pop song lover.

My album of the year so far...

Marc

I'm kind of late with this review but then again, there's been a ton of stuff released recently. New York quartet The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has released an interesting debut this year. Combining the fuzzed out gauziness of Ride and My Bloody Valentine, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are spearheading a new resurgence of shoegazey pop. Most of the songs shimmer and jangle along without being too saccharinely sweet. Top songs include, "Come Saturday," "Everything With You," and "The Tenure Itch."

This album could have come out in the early 90's and earned a place with the aforementioned bands, but it could have easily found an appreciation with those who favored The Lemonheads style of hooky song craft. Either way, the album is a keeper and one that you'll want to hear again and again as it goes by too fast.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart formed in New York in 2007 and late that year released a self-titled EP that was quite well received. The band dug in and for much of 2008 concentrated on recording their debut album.

"The Pains of Being Pure At Heart" (10 tracks; 35 min.) immediately invites comparisons to other noisy, shoegazing bands like My Bloody Valentine and Velocity Girl. not that there is anything wrong with that. The question is whether the band executes well, and the clear answer is yes. Best tracks for me on the album are the opener "Contender", "Come Saturday", with its strong hooks (my favorite track of the album, period), "Everything With You", which sounds like a can't miss single as well, and "Hey Paul" (one of the few songs from the debut EP to make it on the album). At 35 min. this album clips by in no time, and you'll find yourself playing this again and again.

In all, this is a promising debut album, and I'll be interested to see where the Pains take it from here. If you wonder where you can hear those guys, look no further than internet-only WOXY (Bam! The Future of Rock and Roll), the best indie-music station in the country, bar none (and where I first heard the Pains). The Pains are scheduled to play at the Monolith music festival (at Reds Rocks, near Denver) in September, and I can't wait to see how they'll bring these songs live.