The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (album)

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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart cover.png
Studio album by
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
ReleasedFebruary 3, 2009 (2009-02-03)
Recorded2008
StudioHoneyland (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length34:58
Label Slumberland
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart chronology
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
(2007)		The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
(2009)		 Higher Than the Stars
(2009)
Singles from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  1. "Everything with You"
    Released: October 14, 2008
  2. "Young Adult Friction"
    Released: March 31, 2009
  3. "Come Saturday"
    Released: September 8, 2009

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. It was released on February 3, 2009 by Slumberland Records. The band recorded the album at Honeyland Studios in Brooklyn. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released to generally warm critical reception.

Contents

Musical style

The album's sound has been compared to My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Field Mice, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. [1] [2]

Release

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released in the United States on February 3, 2009 by Slumberland Records. [3] [4] In other territories, the album was released by different labels, including Fortuna Pop! in Europe, Lost & Lonesome Recording Co. in Australia, and Fastcut Records in Japan. [4]

Three singles were released from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: "Everything with You" on October 14, 2008, [5] "Young Adult Friction" on March 31, 2009, [6] and "Come Saturday" on September 8, 2009. [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.5/10 [8]
Metacritic 76/100 [9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The A.V. Club A− [10]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A− [14]
NME 8/10 [15]
Pitchfork 8.4/10 [16]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregation website Metacritic, the album holds a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [9] NME's Nathaniel Cramp praised it as "pure indie-pop to hold close to your heart." [15] Pitchfork accorded the album a "Best New Music" designation, with reviewer Ian Cohen writing that the band had "made a slyly confident debut that mixes sparkling melodies with an undercurrent of sad bastard mopery". [16] David Bevan of The A.V. Club called the band "sensitive and sublime", [10] while Robert Christgau of MSN Music said of them: "Not only do they have a sound, they have tunes, and the words bring both home." [14]

AllMusic critic Tim Sendra was more reserved in his praise, finding that the album would have benefited from "a little more variation from song to song, a little more of [the band's] own sound, or another song or two as compelling as the best stuff here", while concluding: "Settling for impressive is fair enough and good enough for fans of loud, fuzzy, and heartfelt indie noise pop." [1] Maddy Costa of The Guardian concluded that "anyone convinced that the C86 bands represent a nadir of tweeness will hate it – while anyone who thinks that Britpop and dance music ruined indie will fall hopelessly in love." [12] PopMatters' Matthew Fiander found the band overly derivative and felt that on the second half of the album, "the melodies sound a little too simple, the vocals almost anemic, and the songs take on a dreary-afternoon trudge." [18]

Pitchfork ranked The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at number 19 on its list of the best albums of 2009, [19] while "Young Adult Friction" placed at number 30 on the website's list of the best tracks of the year. [20] In 2018, Pitchfork listed The Pains of Being Pure at Heart as the 28th best dream pop album. [21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Kip Berman, Kurt Feldman, Alex Naidus, and Peggy Wang).

No.TitleLength
1."Contender"2:40
2."Come Saturday"3:17
3."Young Adult Friction"4:07
4."This Love Is Fucking Right!"3:15
5."The Tenure Itch"3:45
6."Stay Alive"4:56
7."Everything with You"2:59
8."A Teenager in Love"3:24
9."Hey Paul"2:03
10."Gentle Sons"4:32
Total length:34:58
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Gothenburg Handshake" (demo)1:33
12."I Wanna Go All the Way" (demo)2:28
Total length:38:59

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [22] [23]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Production

Design

Charts

Chart (2009)Peak
position
Japanese Top Independent Albums and Singles ( Billboard Japan ) [24] 81
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [25] 43
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [26] 9
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [27] 37

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Sendra, Tim. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". AllMusic . Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Maerz, Melissa (April 1, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart". United States: Apple Music . Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "The Pains of Being Pure At Heart album out now!". Slumberland Records. February 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Everything with You – Single by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart". United States: Apple Music . Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Young Adult Friction – Single by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart". United States: Apple Music . Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Come Saturday – Single by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart". United States: Apple Music . Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart reviews". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  9. 1 2 "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Bevan, David (February 10, 2009). "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart". The A.V. Club . Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  11. ↑ Sheffield, Rob. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Blender . Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Costa, Maddy (February 5, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". The Guardian . Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  13. ↑ Carroll, Jim (March 20, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Fortuna Pop)". The Irish Times . Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  14. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (August 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music . Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Cramp, Nathaniel (February 23, 2009). "Album Review: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart". NME . Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  16. 1 2 Cohen, Ian (February 6, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Pitchfork . Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  17. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Uncut . No. 141. February 2009. p. 89.
  18. ↑ Fiander, Matthew (February 3, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". PopMatters . Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  19. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork . December 17, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  20. ↑ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2009". Pitchfork . December 14, 2009. p. 8. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  21. ↑ "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums". Pitchfork . April 16, 2018. p. 1. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  22. ↑ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (liner notes). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (CD ed.). Slumberland Records. 2009. SLR 89.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ↑ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (liner notes). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (LP ed.). Slumberland Records. 2009. SLR 89.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Independent Albums and Singles". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). April 27, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  26. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  27. ↑ "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
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