The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are nostalgic at a young age. They grew up with their ears in the airwaves, being raised to the sounds of the 80s and early 90s. When they picked up their own instruments the music that came out was the emulation of their heroes; catchy pop songs with energetic instrumentation and semi-sappy vocals. Their self-titled debut album could have came out in the 80s while their 2011 release Belong sounds more like the 90s with the distortion turned up to almost My Bloody Valentine like levels.
If you have a soft spot for reminiscence both of their albums are worth listening to. I was surprised to find The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are better live than on their recordings. Compared to their live sound their albums sound compressed, somewhat filtered. When they play live their music runs free and they became much more than a band living in music’s past. The songs from Belong were a lot cleaner and more open than they are on the album. “Heart In Your Heartbreak” and “Heavens Gonna Happen Now” sounded like different songs. My personal highlight was when they played the sweet and romantic “Even In Dreams” but with an edgier push. They still turned on the distortion and rocked out on songs like “Come Saturday”.
Their lead singer/guitarist Kip Berman showed that he clearly loves being a front man by using his semi-sappy voice with complete confidence while standing in a rock star stance and jumping around the stage. Berman demonstrated how to sing with power even with a soft voice.
By the end of the show the crowd couldn’t help but dance to “Terrible Friend” with all of its bouncy pleasantness. After the show I texted my friends who grew up with young parents and told them to check out The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their albums will be great for 80s kids who dream about Echo and the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon” and its sliding synch. For a modern guy like me, I could use their albums for long drives with my girlfriend because The Pains Of Being are just sweet and catchy enough for us both to enjoy. I’m just glad that last night at The Crocodile they showed a free and energetic side.
- @Moffman23