The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (album)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Studio album by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Released February 3, 2009 (2009-02-03)
Recorded Summer 2008
Studio Honeyland Studios (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length 34:58
Label
Producer The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart chronology
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
(2007)		 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
(2009)		 Higher Than the Stars
(2009)
Singles from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  1. "Everything with You"
    Released: November 17, 2008 (2008-11-17)
  2. "Young Adult Friction"
    Released: March 31, 2009 (2009-03-31)
  3. "Come Saturday"
    Released: September 8, 2009 (2009-09-08)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. It was released on February 3, 2009 by Slumberland in the United States and Fortuna Pop! in the United Kingdom. The album was recorded at Honeyland Studios in Brooklyn, New York, and was mixed by Archie Moore. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released to generally warm critical reception.

Musical style

The album's sound has been compared to My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Field Mice and The Jesus and Mary Chain.[1][2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubA−[4]
Blender[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Irish Times[7]
MSN MusicA−[8]
NME8/10[9]
Pitchfork8.4/10[10]
Rolling Stone[2]
Uncut[11]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album holds a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[3] NME's Nathaniel Cramp called the album "pure indie-pop to hold close to your heart."[9] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork gave The Pains of Being Pure at Heart a "Best New Music" designation, writing "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart simply made a slyly confident debut that mixes sparkling melodies with an undercurrent of sad bastard mopery, and you're just being a dick if you think the past has some kind of patent on that. That's just the way good pop music works."[10] Robert Christgau, in his "Consumer Guide" column for MSN Music, also praised the album, writing "Not only do they have a sound, they have tunes, and the words bring both home. One day it will please them to remember even this."[8]

AllMusic's Tim Sindra was more reserved in his praise, writing "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."[1] In a mixed review, Maddy Costa of The Guardian wrote that "anyone convinced that the C86 bands represent a nadir of tweeness will hate it – while anyone who thinks that Britpop and dance music ruined indie will fall hopelessly in love."[6] PopMatters' Matthew Fiander criticized the album for lack of originality and felt that on the second half of the album, "the melodies sound a little too simple, the vocals almost anemic, and the songs take on a dreary-afternoon trudge."[12]

Pitchfork ranked the album at number 19 on the website's list of The Top 50 Albums of 2009,[13] while the song "Young Adult Friction" placed at number 30 on its list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2009.[14] In 2018, Pitchfork ranked the album at number 28 on its list of The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums.[15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Contender"2:40
2."Come Saturday"3:17
3."Young Adult Friction"4:07
4."This Love Is Fucking Right!"3:15
5."The Tenure Itch"3:45
6."Stay Alive"4:56
7."Everything with You"2:59
8."A Teenager in Love"3:24
9."Hey Paul"2:03
10."Gentle Sons"4:32
Total length:34:58

Personnel

Credits for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart adapted from album liner notes.[16]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  • Kip Berman – guitar, vocals
  • Kurt Feldman – drums
  • Alex Naidus – bass guitar
  • Peggy Wang-East – keyboards, vocals
Production
  • Jon Chaikin – remastering
  • Archie Moore – audio engineering, mixing
Artwork and design
  • Kendra Elise – cover photography
  • Pavla Kopecna – inside photography

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[17] 9
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18] 37

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sendra, Tim. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". AllMusic. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Maerz, Melissa (April 1, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart : The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Reviews for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Metacritic. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  4. ↑ Bevan, David (February 10, 2009). "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  5. ↑ Sheffield, Rob. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Blender. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Costa, Maddy (February 5, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". The Guardian. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  7. ↑ Carroll, Jim (March 20, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Fortuna Pop)". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (August 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Cramp, Nathaniel (February 23, 2009). "Album Review: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart". NME. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Cohen, Ian (February 6, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  11. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Uncut (141): 89. February 2009.
  12. ↑ Fiander, Matthew (February 4, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". PopMatters. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  13. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork. December 17, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  14. ↑ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2009". Pitchfork. December 14, 2009. p. 8. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  15. ↑ "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums". Pitchfork. April 16, 2018. p. 1. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (liner notes). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Slumberland Records. 2009. SLR 89.
  17. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  18. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
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