The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

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Total Tracks: 10   Total Length: 34:58

eMusic Review

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Jonathan Liu

eMusic Contributor

02.03.09
A effervescent pop debut celebrating the exuberance of youth in all its John Hughes glory
2009 | Label: Slumberland / IODA

It's no insult, and not much hyperbole, to call The Pains of Being Pure at Heart the first debut in years that takes an uncomplicated stance on being young. Youth feels great, and more than that, it matters. Totaling less than 35 minutes, the album's ten tracks float by with the same butterfly anticipation that fills the last day of school before summer break. These are tight, classic pop songs, their craftsmanship less a product of music-geek encyclopedism than a basic this-sounds-right instinct. The opening bars of "Young Adult Friction" recalls "Love Vigilantes," that terrifically atypical New Order track from 1985's Low-Life; lyrically and musically, "Come Saturday" suggests an improbable double-time mash-up of two Cure staples: "I can't stand to see your picture / On the dresser where I left you / You're 80 miles away, Tuesday / But come Saturday, you'll come to stay." (ie: "Pictures of You" and "Friday I'm in Love.") Incandescent and twinkling, "A Teenager in Love" is the John Hughes/Gossip Girl sound of coming-of-age America, even if what the chorus actually says is, "But you don't need a friend when you're / A teenager in love with Christ and heroin." That "Heroin" sounds like "heaven"… read more »

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Missing Something

EDog

This is kind of like a B&S cover band that you'd be happy to see at a coffee house, but it doesn't sustain the interest of a dedicated listen.

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Fun Music

forwardmarch

I don't get why mikemos felt compelled to write a 2-star review with such a big statement. Anyone who thinks this ISN'T derivative is young or very inexperienced. The band themselves look pretty darn young and maybe they stumbled on this sound by accident, but I doubt it... sounds like a happier version of music that was around in the 80s and very authentic-sounding, too. I don't get people who can only appreciate music if they think it will be important in 10 years or 20 years. I don't think that is the band's intent and I don't think most of the positive reviewers here give a crap. I certainly don't. Good album that was exactly what I was looking for.

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Strong release

Joseph93

The first time i tried listened to this, I quit without finishing the whole thing - i thought it was that bad. However, their sound really grew on me and now i find their music irresistible. I really dig the noise. Recommended, and I'm looking forward to their upcoming album.

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Meh...

daisyart

Not something I feel compelled to listen to again.

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Jeez, relax it's just music...

Argon

So they sound like other bands. Big deal. What they do, they do really well. None of their influences are around any more or if they are, they're making crap. The Pains... songs are fresh and exciting. So if you still like the music from all the bands they've supposedly "ripped off" then ignore the snobs and download immediately. It's great!

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Definitely one the best albums so far in 2009

vilvodka

(from my music blog, anti-snob.com): "Stay Alive" sounds like it came from Disc 2 from that wonderful Brit Box set I got for Christmas a few years back - like a lost and forgotten track sticking it's neck out somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Lush. The album's first single "Come Saturday" paints in black yet achieves color (if only pastel). Most other tracks like "Everything With You" and "Gentle Sons" capture the don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment of a depressed goth girl smiling for the first time and spreads that experience in 3 minute pop blasts. Definitely one the best albums so far in 2009.

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Album:Live Ratio Unacceptable

JordanDS

It broke my heart when this band provided me with possibly the worst live performance I have ever experienced. Walked out during the third song, and I do not do that. Listen to this great album, skip the show.

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Look at that Album Cover...

Grosho

Shouldn't it say Belle and Sebastian at the top? These dudes rip off everything they possibly can (album cover, melodies, hooks, riffs, bass lines) - and are totally unashamed of it too, but not in the cool, transparent way that is about re-appropriation or re-contextualization. They are just copycats. Plain and simple. You'll probably be tempted to download this album because it has some catchy stuff in it - but I don't think you should sleep so well if that is what you do. I know there are varying degrees of influence and "paying tribute" - but this is not that. This is plagiarism.

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I feel guilty for liking this album, but it's fun.

bigben7111

Pop rock with a twist. Open chords, sweet lyrics, and distortion. At times this album sounds like My Bloody Valentine and Britney Spears collabrated. This is good album. Simple, pure, and tasteful. Give it a shot. Key tracks: Contender, Young Adult Friction, This Love Is Fucking Right!

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Yes I love it but live...?

Johnckane

I just wish these guys live would measure up to their records.....

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They Say All Media Guide

The New York indie pop quartet the Pains of Being Pure at Heart built up a pretty rabid fan base in the indie pop community prior to the release of their self-titled debut record in early 2009. For this, they could thank a string of excellent singles and EPs that began in 2007 (songs from which appear on the album) but more than that they can put it down to the fact that their sound melds together the trademarked sounds of many beloved indie and noise pop bands into one shiny ball of sound and melancholy. Mixed in skillfully are the sonic assaults of early My Bloody Valentine, the hazy sweetness of Ride, the introspective and usually morose lyrical approach perfected by the Field Mice, the sensitive and tender vocals purveyed by most Sarah records bands, and the rhythmic drive of early-’90s Amer-Indie bands the likes of which more often than not found themselves on Slumberland (Lilys, the Ropers, Velocity Girl — whose Archie Moore ably mixes the album). It all could come off like a pastiche with little more than nostalgic value but the band acts as if it were the first time anyone ever captured this kind of sound, never sitting back and aping the past but instead giving it a healthy boost. Plus, they write some very good songs. “Come Saturday,” “This Love Is Fucking Right!” (their answer to the Field Mice’s “This Love Is Not Wrong”), or “Young Adult Friction” all would have been in serious rotation on a hip college radio station in 1992. Best of all is the amazingly hooky “Everything with You,” which stands as the equal of anything the shoegaze poppers or pop losers cranked out back in the day. If you had gone out and bought the 7,” after one play you would have tacked the sleeve up on your wall and played the record until the grooves wore out. It’s that good. It lifts the album from pretty good to almost great. A little more variation from song to song, a little more of their own sound, or another song or two as compelling as the best stuff here and the POBPAH’s debut would have been classic. Settling for impressive is fair enough and good enough for fans of loud, fuzzy, and heartfelt indie noise pop. – Tim Sendra

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Activity

  • 10.19.12: Friday, October 19 at 10:00am, tickets go on sale for Laneway Festival - Perth, Western Au
  • 02.06.12 meant to type "SYDNEY." how embarrassing! And yeah, at (eli) manning bar!
  • 02.06.12 Sidney, AU: We're playing on Thursday at Manning Bar http://t.co/kfasWF7A
  • 02.04.12 m83, twin shadow, cults, yuck, girls. drums, horrors. I had a trillion beers, got sunburned + saw some seriously great bands today! (kip)
  • 02.04.12 Thanks @JohnJCampbell http://t.co/6GBPglaS
  • 02.01.12 A Mixtape By Kip for The Thousands (AU). http://t.co/51YI3hIC via @threethousand
  • 01.31.12 For some reason, touring with soft cases leads to guitars' necks moving around more than they should when you play. oh well, STAY SOFT!!!!
  • 01.31.12 Met some kids from The Philippines at @lanewayfestNZ with @SlumberlandRecs and Moscow Olympics badges. Pretty cool in our book…
  • 01.30.12 Auckland NZ: what's a good second hand guitar or instrument shop here? Recommendations please, thanks!
  • 01.20.12 Photo: Madrid, ES: January 2012 http://t.co/3fPvUQPr
  • 01.19.12 Close Lobsters Reunion! http://t.co/h2ABPcXD
  • 01.17.12 Our pals @bhweekend are selling their new record for £5 on the @squirrelrecords website. Fuzz! Pop! Sex! Violence! http://t.co/W39X3j0l
  • 01.15.12 Photo: Bilbao, ES: January 2012 http://t.co/EE1CfaYm
  • 01.14.12 Photo: Paris, France: January 14 2012 http://t.co/8f6jgBQG
  • 01.14.12 We hope to play a show in Zaragoza, Spain someday so we can hang with our friends Sergio and Gerardo! They are the BEST <3
  • 01.11.12 Tour dates just added in Korea, China, Philippines, Thailand + Indonesia. http://t.co/BD6Xwqwd
  • 01.10.12 Photo: 1.10.2012 - Valencia, ES http://t.co/TfKeJL9m
  • 01.07.12 There are occasional moments in history when truth overcomes bullshit. Here's one. Huggybear "Her Jazz" on The Word http://t.co/rEjAH0Ls
  • 01.06.12 Photo: New York: January 2012 http://t.co/1nDyJUKJ
  • 01.06.12 Thanks to @sharlenechiu + @mtvcanada for taking us to lunch + "ladies market" for poodle shirts in Hong Kong! http://t.co/Ifi82Sqs
  • 01.06.12 LONDON (only UK date) “@TicketWebUK: New Pains of Being Pure At Heart show at @O2Islington now on sale http://t.co/fyiKrkHh