[P4K Reviews] The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Judith Boyle?

this has the right sound, the right aesthetics, and probably all the right influences, but i can't quite get into the songs. i think i'd have to be a college sophomore with lots of personal problems (again) to have it resonate with me. will give it more time, i suppose.

went to college with the lead singer. apparently he broke a bunch of my friend's dishware in a fit of pre-rockstar fury some years ago

Still finding this pretty pleasant, and it suddenly occurs to me that I really want them to cover every single song that Crash ever recorded.

apparently he broke a bunch of my friend's dishware in a fit of pre-rockstar fury some years ago

i'm sure this is on ebay somewhere

it seems like a lot of their songs are based on the field mice's 'sensitive'.
oooo, the jj album has leaked. anyways, the pains of being pure at heart live performance on carson daly was really dull and yet they are likable, pleasant even(as said above) but I can't imagine them doing anything memorable. the vocals are too low in the mix for them to appeal to sensitive types and the music is too one speed to show any real depth, perhaps a good producer could help them out.

i somehow can't imagine a second album. they seem like the kind of band that would make one amazing album and then flame out. Except they didn't do it.

I was so ready to hate this band and simply lump them in with all the other wussy new indie bullshit that's been bothering me for the past 3-4 years, but this record is pretty fuckin great.

Obviously their sound is derivative of at least 5 late 80's/early 90's bands, but the songs are still really good. It's the good kind of derivative.

I especially like that they don't have glockenspiels or violins.

that is a good thing it's true

i know neither band are doing anything special but i much prefer brilliant colors and dum dum girls to tpobpah and viv girls. possibly the hype buzzkill hasn't made its way to me as yet?

You know, "Stay Alive" is actually pretty great. I'm a little surprised that I'm still playing this album on a semi-regular basis.

Playing the album is one thing. Seeing them live (NY Seaport) is another. Remarkable lack of charisma. Like they're almost trying to be the most boring indie band on earth.

that's kind of the vibe i got from listening to the album, tbh. i do like a few of the tunes, especially "the tenure itch," but nothing really makes me want to like them more than that

xxp - <3 brilliant colors. you should check out grass widows too, if you haven't already

They've got a new EP coming out in a few months... can't wait!

just noticed that slumberland are doing the brilliant colours album.. neat

Playing the album is one thing. Seeing them live (NY Seaport) is another.

Avoiding them live for this very reason... album's not bad, though!

I've been avoiding this record for ages (on account of it just makes me feel like a Target Market with a giant red circle painted on my back - oh and also the awful name) - but it's really kind of alright.

Yeah, there's utterly nothing new about what they're doing at all. But it's a pleasing enough example of something I really rather have a soft spot for. (I mean, they're an American version of Manhattan Love Suicides, really, or a lo-fi Asobi Seksu)

Though that P4k review at the top is kind of out of order, I agree.

"it all started a few years ago with a place to bury strangers"

*~~dissolve to sepia toned past~~*

The quoted excerpt from that review makes me think the writer forgot he was writing an article as opposed to a messageboard post; the point "there's nothing wrong with leaning heavily on the past if you're good at what you do" is one that is worth making but probably not with the extra "and if you are worthless if you disagree with me" sentiment.

i saw them live and now i have no desire to listen to this album again, although track 2 is still pretty good. Black Tambourine is about 50 times better than this though.

lol omar

http://www.movieactors.com/actors/Freezes-Characters/jfk305donald.jpeg

I think it started like that.
In the wind.
Press releases, promo copies, conversation.
Then a call is made. Maybe to someone like Ryan Schreiber.
No one said, "They must get an 8.4." No vote. Nothing's on paper.
There's no one to blame.
It's as old as the Arcade Fire
Five glowing review submissions, one negative. No one's guilty.
Everybody in the power structure...
...has a plausible deniability.
No compromising connections except at the most secret point.
But it must succeed.

i officially like this band's music quite a lot now

i love thier whole kiwi/bats vibe. new single is awesome

hm, you should issue a press release

i officially like this band's music quite a lot now

Hells yeah. I love this band's recent string of high-quality, non-album singles.

saint etienne remix of new single should be up the alley of air france fans

Count me among the people who thought this band's name was so terrible that it was hard to imagine them being anything like sure-footed in their other aesthetic choices. But if it really sounds a little like the Jesus and Mary Chain etc. I'll probably like it!

the non-remix version of the new single, as nice as it sounds, seems a little too cynically 'knowing' about its field mice-meets-'just like heaven' vibe for me to love it

dig the other tracks though

Champagne!

We have achieved concensus.

however i hope they get over this 'use the same cover art but with a different single colour' thing very soon

seems lazy and it's not like it's a good design anyway

^referring to the album and its respective singles, not the new EP btw

Are the remixes on the new EP worth it? I'm being stingy with my emusic credits.

the only one of the three i didn't dig all that much was the DJ downfall. the St.E one is pretty essential

I can't imagine life now without it.

The new songs on the EP are really good too.

I prefer the EP to the album: it's shorter, of course, and gives me no time to note their weaknesses.

decide for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JemWi8T-ejI

im not a big fan of the st. etienne version tbh, too slow and not digging all the open space

iirc

Just dropping in to say that "Gentle Sons" is, by far, one of my favorite songs of the year.

"Monday morning comes too fast / you stumble down the diamond path / and every step will be your last," the roar of the feedback-soaked guitars, and the solo—without a single note wasted—right in the middle. The sequencing on the record, with this closing, is perfect.

And I have to disagree with Alfred; I think the album's better than the EP, but then again I would, because I prefer albums, and I see the songs on Higher Than the Stars EP as slight variations on the songs that are on the self-titled record. Plus, in addition to "Gentle Sons," we have "Stay Alive," which is their second best song.

Is "Gentle Sons" the album closer? Seem to remember it cherry-picking the JAMC "Just Like Honey" drum intro... not that they're the first to do so, but it's very noticeable.

Yeah, Hal Blaine was ripping off that intro twenty years before JAMC even formed!

This goes all the way back to the first post, but someone once quoted me a Dillinger Four review that may not actually exist in which the reviewer who may not actually exist said, "If you don't like this record (Midwestern Songs of the Americas), then you are an asshole." That is the only record in the world where I could somewhat get behind that sentiment.

Oh, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart are pleasant when they are fuzzy.

Is "Gentle Sons" the album closer? Seem to remember it cherry-picking the JAMC "Just Like Honey" drum intro... not that they're the first to do so, but it's very noticeable.

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Sunday, November 1, 2009 1:13 PM (2 hours ago)

Yup, that's the song!

missing u ott

anyway, i really like the new single

http://pitchfork.com/news/38714-hear-the-new-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart-single-say-no-to-love/