[P4K Reviews] The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

i'm listening to this record for the first time now. first track sounds all too obviously like 'just like honey'. i'm hoping for more variety of mood as the record plays out

i'm probably just ranting after seeing amazing records from last year ignored like amazing records from every other year and very much not amazing stuff is always getting attention and god knows why i even care

four tracks in and it's samey as fuck, and really bright sounding.

Looks like the real thing/feels like the first time!

'stay alive' is easily the nicest sounding track so far. this one will be worth playing a few times.

Vivian Girls don't sound much like Black Tambourine

it's OK to listen to different bands who sound similar; you don't have to restrict yourself to one

it's OK to listen to earlier, influential bands, or later, influenced bands, or both, or neither, whatever

im OK, you're OK

it's OK to not listen to bands

No, it's totally inappropriate.

At risk of turning this thread into this thread, any other indiepop recommendations 2009? The Besties? Sexy Kids? Swedish stuff?

electricsound, I'm just curious what some of the records you liked from last year got totally ignored? I'm not trolling, I promise! I don't post that much, but from what I read we have kind of similar tastes in terms of indie pop.

Didn't make it more than a few sentences into the Pfork review, just clicked over to Myspace and the songs are fun, a bit catchy, a bit noisy, very reminiscent of pre-Isn't Anything MBV, Pale Saints, Ride, a bit of Mary Chain and all their collective influences as well. Not original, not bad either!

Nothing wrong with this band, at all. But from one perspective, they are the infamous She Wants Revenge with a different record collection.

Also, read the Psychic Ills album review. Not that that album is great or anything, but the review is basically "WTF YOU MEAN THERE ISN'T A MELODY?!" over and over again.

in before lock

whocares: Je Suis Animal !

The Tartans seem OK

The Ballet, maybe

Why would this thread need to be locked.

rock critic in being less than serious journalism is serious shocker lols

for indie-poppers, i kinda like these guys

I suppose it is serious shocker lols in that one extremely unrelated way.

learn more ilx memes

Thanks, I prefer the thin thread of coherence that runs through them.

yeah, it's a horrible review. inclines me to hate the band, though ian cohen is by no means their fault. "That these second-wavers are getting first-rate attention shouldn't be a worry unless you're into dick-measuring contests about the late-1980s (but I was there) or still holding a grudge against Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts." no, fuck you.

pitchfork is good for fridays, i guess.

It seems this is a two-dick review.

I would expect nothing less from Ian 'Throb' Cohen.

remind me again why you started this thread?

Thread was started in part because someone likes to pretend to not know how to read:

you're just being a dick if you think the past has some kind of patent on that

is not very well paraphrased as

You're a dick if you discount this

(Although to be fair, this is not a band I would risk taking even a mildly defensive reviewing tone about, or really using the word "dick" -- they're just not that kind of band.)

yeah to be fair it does seem like half of the review is spent preemptively defending the best new music tag. on the other hand it is a review that basically describes the record and what it sounds like, which is something i can get behind.

By the way, I like this band pretty well! What took me a while to wrap my head around -- and what might take the band themselves some adjusting to -- is the idea that music like this would get attention from and seem significant to people outside the indiepop scene. (Which seems to say something, but I'm not sure exactly what yet.)

i think i just have defensive grapes because i super AM into dick-meauring contests about the late 80s

Right...if you say so Nibs.

i think i just have defensive grapes because i super AM into dick-meauring contests about the late 80s

Hmm.

hmm is the new ...

on first listen this reminded me of ecstasy and wine-era MBV (not a diss in the least)

actually i don't know why i felt the need to qualify that as not-a-diss. this is very good tho

electricsound, I'm just curious what some of the records you liked from last year got totally ignored? I'm not trolling, I promise! I don't post that much, but from what I read we have kind of similar tastes in terms of indie pop.

― jonathan - stl, Saturday, February 7, 2009 3:08 AM (8 hours ago)

well, #1 would be the for against album. and though i came to it late, the charmparticles album also seemed to get quite a bit less interest than a record so completely wonderful should deserve

I can't believe these guys are worth all the gnashing of teeth. They're pleasant enough and kind of boring; Pitchfork is Pitchfork. News at 11?

I could dance to this.

I like it, but I'd be more excited by it if half of my record collection didn't consist of bands that pretty much sound exactly like this.

so wait this band is not from the UK?

this is a very boring clusterfuck thread, try harder

I like it, but I'd be more excited by it if half of my record collection didn't consist of bands that pretty much sound exactly like this.

Oh my god you could not be more OTM.

Playing the tiny Black Cat Backstage room in DC Monday night. Can't decide whether they're worth a late worknight. Maybe the old DC Slumberland scene will be out in force.

I skipped the show. A late start and I saw many of their influences years ago.

Check out the last question to them in this interview

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/blackplasticbag/2009/02/09/qa-the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart/

WCP: Do you ever feel like you’re maybe a little too much like older Slumberland bands? Do you feel like your bring your own voice to that music?

Berman: I do, because it’s my voice on the record. It’s us playing it in 2009. We’re not too hero worshipful. We’re respectful of all the tradition, but the lyrics are really personal and really distinct and about our lives and our experiences in our world right now. We’re never in danger of slipping into time capsule mode. We feel very alive at the moment, we don’t necessarily want to live in a different time or place at all.

hey guys if it's OK with you I'm going to totally hate this band sight unseen for their name having the phrase "pure AT heart" in it instead of "pure OF heart." even if they did it on purpose to be 'funny' or something.

hey guys if it's OK with you I'm going to totally hate this band sight unseen for their name having the phrase "pure AT heart" in it instead of "pure OF heart." even if they did it on purpose to be 'funny' or something.

― some dude, Tuesday, February 10, 2009 11:45 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark

Then you'd be missing out on a fucking awesome band for a stupid reason.

doesn't the riff also sound a lot like "12:51" by the strokes?

Love it!

When I saw them live they sounded eerily (and kind of disappointingly) like the album. It's good to know they're not just studio rats but at least throw in an extra guitar solo measure or two.

i finally listened to this, it was okay, even though it sounded like everything from the early 90's. and there was one song that sounded just like something off the last yo la tengo record. but you know whatever.

The drummer is so cute in this video. The cross-legged conducting of 1000 drummers, etc. I love this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHYwzSdfWE

Is anyone going to the show on Thu?

I would expect nothing less from Ian 'Throb' Cohen.

― cee-oh-tee-tee, Friday, February 6, 2009 12:20 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this guy

doesn't the riff also sound a lot like "12:51" by the strokes?

u_u

I haven't listened to this record in a while, but it was definitely one of my favorites from last year

i pretty much prefer everything they've done that wasn't on the album to anything on the album

i wonder if they will show any development on future releases, they do tend to write the same song over and over. it's a catchy song mind.

I'd take an album and a couple more EPs of that same song over and over.

tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

thoughts?

new album is just kinda whatever but man the first one is totally a classic

I think my favorite is the stuff from the interim between the 1st and 2nd albums. This one's okay, though I believe everyone in the band except the singer is a new hire.

New one is rather good, much better than the last. Probably relative to how much like the field mice they sound, closer to wratten the better.

Been surprised at how well the new record's stood up. I've listened to it a number of times and think it's probably as good as the s/t; but any band that's made the same album 3 times is going to fly under the radar. Love "Simple to Sure" > "Kelly" and "Eurydice" > "Masokissed".

I guess if you're going to ape your entire sound, do it as well as these guys do (see also: Yuck's debut).

Probably reductionist to post this in here, but Peggy Wang from TPOBPAH has a new band called Store Front. They put out their debut EP today and frontwoman Amy Rose Spiegel has a nice voice. Will appeal to fans of Pains and shimmery indie rock songs between 2:30 - 3:00.

https://storefrontnyc.bandcamp.com/

Task EP: https://open.spotify.com/album/5rcF3nAW28mDCcSJGBaOfX

Press: https://www.stereogum.com/2072593/store-front-rip-the-price-off/music/

repost it over here so we can build up some indie pop discussion momentum:

Not Pop Not Indie Shambhala 2020 Thread

wait wrong thread, here:

Rolling Indiepop/Twee/Jangle 2020