Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder With The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Artist: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Album: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Comments:Despite the massive snow storm that will surely have destroyed us all come Monday morning, there is no doubt that Spring is well on its way. Soon enough teens will be falling in love, plants will rise to greet the new found warmth of our mother sun, and the music world will see a slew of sunny, poppy releases that will aim to match the bright and frivolous joy of the season. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart self-titled release is the first of many albums in this subgroup, and it might be the best one as well.

The band has seemingly been universally compared to My Bloody Valentine, and while touchstones like R.E.M, The Cure, The Cars and Polaris (best known as the house band for Nickelodeon's hipster training program The Adventures of Pete & Pete), there is something undeniably 80s going on throughout the record. It's not hard to imagine a parallel universe where TPOBPAH would sit snugly next to other sweet, fuzzed out love songs on some John Hughes movie soundtrack.

Breaking down an album like this on a song by song basis is pointless, as almost every track sounds identical to the one before it. The only honest to God standout on the record is the drum-less opening track "Contender," a song that sets the charming tone of the record but is still strong enough to operate on its own. However, while saying an album is similar throughout is often a bad thing, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart sidesteps this criticism by working fantastically as a whole record. Clocking in at 10 songs in just over 30 minutes, the album is the perfect length: not so long that it overstays its welcome but not so short that the listener feels gypped.

These punky, new-wavey, synthy, mildly fuzzy songs might not become the new anthems for teen love, they certainly make for nice music to listen to while walking on a spring day.

Key Tracks: Contender, This Love is Fucking Right, Hey Paul (Not that it really matters, it's all gravy - Ed.)