Sunday, March 15, 2009

REVIEW: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

6 out of 10

Being a "hyped" band can be a tricky situation. You will either live it up, or (most likely the case) fizzle out and come nowhere near such "high remarks". The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are one of those bands. They've been creating a small buzz on the internet for about 2 years now. In 2009 they decided it was time to finally release their debut full-length self-titled album. I had been curious about this band the minute I heard the terrific name. I looked them up and found out they were a "proclaimed" Shoegaze band in-vein of My Bloody Valentine. That was the point I knew I had to hear more..

I purchased TPOBPAH's self-titled ep a few months ago and was regretfully let down. I usually love ep's too. But I thought, well maybe this is just a "freak incident" where an ep actually sucks. Maybe the full length album will be good?

Although the self-titled full length is definitely better than the self-titled ep it still falls a little short. TPOBPAH are an Indie-Pop band with HINTS of Rock and Shoegaze. Instead of focusing on reverberated/fuzzed-out guitars with layers of synths, TPOBPAH focus on a more "Pop" structured format with just a hints of fuzzy guitar. I'm reminded of The Manhattan Love Suicides meets "Swervedriver kind of attitude". Simple "Alterna-Pop" music with male/female vocals. I would be ok with this being played at the background of a bar, but I don't hear any real attributes/tracks that make me want to focus on it harder. I will say I have a "weakness" for "A Teenager In Love". That song is by far the standout, it's simple, but it serves it's purpose with ease.

To me TPOBPAH's format feels stale. I understand "Indie" music has been "revisiting" it's roots/repeating music from yesterdays(my) generation. And I wouldn't say The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are a complete a waste of time, I do see a promising future for them. But, unless they "sharpen" their sound, or bring more focus, like they do on a few of their tracks, they will burn out quickly (like most over hyped things do). Maybe they'll grow on me?

Standout Tracks: Come Saturday, Young Adult Friction, Stay Alive, A Teenager In Love, Gentle Sons

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