PeeP on PoP- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Belong (Slumberland 2011)

~by Gabe McBride

90_______________________

*Sigh* It can be hard to maintain any sense of objectivity when a band seems to be made just for you. I ran across PoBPaH a couple years ago on YouTube, before 2009’s self-titled debut came out and knew more or less instantly that I had a new favorite band. It kind of becomes a criticism-proof scenario: ‘a band that likes all the bands you like and references them in all the ways that matter equals undying devotion’. Sure, there’s the supposed problem of a lack originality, but the best bands can transcend copy-cat status, The Pains do it very, very well. Even better, the band are prolific, having released 3 albums worth of material in the last two years, toured incessantly, and, apparently they have a great sense of humor about themselves (see the video below). Plus, they are on Slumberland Records! Not sure what else they could possibly do to ingratiate themselves to me, short of hiring another cute, bespectacled Asian girl to play alongside keyboard player/singer Peggy Wang, and performing at my house party for me and my friends. 

On Belong, the band expands on their twee-gaze sound from PoBPaH, without straying into unknown territory, making the new album an incremental step, rather than gigantic leap forward. The Pains have blown up their sound, and owe a very obvious debt to Smashing Pumpkins, while retaining their charm and likability, something Billy Corgan and co. never really had to begin with. The songs are bigger and louder, but still bursting at the seams with the charm and character the band have been known for, over these last few years. I guess I may be gushing, because I am way too much a product of my late-teen/early 20’s formative music years, along with my tendency to over-idealize adorableness in my music fanboy-dom, but The Pains sound like My Bloody Valentine, The Ropers, New Order, The Cure, The Smiths, Phil Spector’s “wall of sound”, and The Field Mice, depending on the song, and they do so because they genuinely seem to love playing these tunes. There’s not a bad track on the album, and the loveable nature of the tunes is a product of more than ‘merely’ great hooks and Sixteen Candles inspired lyrics, as even the upbeat songs register a certain amount of sadness and longing, that hints at a greater amount of emotional depth than any band playing such catchy tunes should have any right to. 

For Fans of: Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Tambourine, Yuck