The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

INDIE

If My Bloody Valentine and Belle and Sebastian had babies, they’d no doubt be pretty grotesque-looking little mites. But we reckon their musical outpourings would sound a lot like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – and boy, would they be able to sing for their supper. The NYC foursome’s debut is a dreamy listen from the get-go, as infectious opener ‘Contender’ blasts down the door to a veritable Aladdin’s cave of scuffed riffs, soaring melodies and winsome boy/girl vocals. And unlike the majority of today’s C86-aficionados, it never becomes irritatingly twee – the thundering rhythms and relentless basslines put pay to that. In the right hands, stroppy pop can be a truly glorious thing indeed.

(Fortuna Pop)