New York band
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are a name often thrown around when discussing the major players of today's shoegaze revival scene. On their second long play,
Belong, they further expand on the dynamic fuzz-pop of their early releases, shooting for even bigger hooks and bolder production with the help of two huge names:
Flood and
Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Depeche Mode, Curve and Jesus & Mary Chain).
The result is a slick set of well-crafted pop hits drenched in plenty of noise to keep 'gazers endeared. The dense soundscapes provide a contrasting backdrop to Kip Berman's teen-flavoured and occassionally cringe-worthy, cotton-candy lyrics (... "You're not the one, you're just my only one"). On title track, 'Belong', and undeniably magical cuts 'Heart in Your Heartbreak' and 'The Body', the formula is perfected. Wang's synth hooks bring a touch of new-wave to the latter and others, further pushing the album into lazily accessible territory. And this very progression typifies the admirable attitude, lack of pretense and likeability of a band who admittedly aren't at all concerned with record-sales, so long as 'people attend their shows'.
A relatively short play at 38 minutes,
Belong hits hard and only loses a tiny speck of momentum after a high energy opening handful of songs. By casting aside any self-imposed restrictions seen on their self-titled debut,
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart have further solidified their position as talented songwriters with big ideas and the pop-sensibility to deliver them to a wider audience.
Check out the band's Letterman appearance:
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