Photo: Annie Powers
-Daniel Grant
In this age of lowered expectations music has been an inevitable victim. The evolution of technology has made the creation and distribution of music so easy that legions of new indie groups continuously sprout, seemingly overnight, like toadstools in the lawns of unsuspecting music fans. But technology is no substitute for inspiration and most of the new sounds emerging over the past few years have lacked the spark of genius that has defined all of the greatest bands.
New York fuzz popsters The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have tapped into the mainline of rock greatness that has surged through every favorite record of every bored kid sitting cross-legged in a dark room picking at the cracked rubber of their dirty sneakers while hating their life and dreaming of picking up a guitar to do something about it. Sounding like Stuart Murdoch and Isobel Campbell fronting The Jesus and Mary Chain, the Pains toss off one instant classic pop song after another, mostly smothered in a warm coating of feedback and reverb. The Pains’ recently released self-titled debut album plays like a greatest hits album from a group that you instantly can’t live without.
Rejecting both the snarky post-ironic lyrical style that has become standard practice for every indie band since the dawn of the new millennium as well as the clichéd recycling of cheesy '80s synth tracks that is foundation of almost everything “new” from Sweden to Paris to Silverlake, the Pains have somehow managed to take familiar elements of earlier legendary artists (the Mary Chain, Shop Assistants, Black Tamborine, etc.) and make them sound fresh again. Perhaps it is their earnestness of purpose or their undeniable knack with a hook, but it seems like a long time since a record this addicting was released.
Featuring only ten tracks and clocking in at a brisk 35 minutes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart won’t leave your turntable, or your memory, once you drop the needle for the first time. The energetic playing and subtle harmonies of Kip Berman (guitar) and Peggy Wang (keyboards) joyfully bounces along on top of the pulse-quickening rhythm section anchored by Kurt Feldman (drums) and Alex Naidus (bass). Jokingly self-dubbed as “tweemo,” this is music that is as fun as it is exciting.
The Pains, who have released an earlier five song EP and a great non-LP single called “Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan,” will be playing at SXSW next month. They also have a few scattered East Coast gigs scheduled but, so far, no full tour. If you like noisy three-minute pop songs that will be rattling around in your head for days, check out The Pains of Being Pure Heart.
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