Released February 3, 2009 Length 34:58 | Recorded Summer 2008 | |
Genre Indie pop, noise pop, shoegaze Label Slumberland (US), Fortuna Pop! (UK) Producer The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | ||
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is the self-titled debut studio album by American indie pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, released on February 3, 2009. The album was recorded at Honeyland Studios in Brooklyn, New York, and was mixed by Archie Moore. The album was released to generally warm critical reception. First pressing of vinyl is black with a limited edition in white. Second pressing of the vinyl is clear. The third pressing is black & white swirl.
Contents
Musical style
The album's sound has been compared to My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Field Mice and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Reception
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album holds a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews." NME's Nathaniel Cramp called the album "pure indie-pop to hold close to your heart." Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media gave The Pains of Being Pure at Heart a "Best New Music" designation, writing "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart simply made a slyly confident debut that mixes sparkling melodies with an undercurrent of sad bastard mopery, and you're just being a dick if you think the past has some kind of patent on that. That's just the way good pop music works." Robert Christgau, in his "Consumer Guide" column for MSN Music, also praised the album, writing "Not only do they have a sound, they have tunes, and the words bring both home. One day it will please them to remember even this."
AllMusic's Tim Sindra was more reserved in his praise, writing "A little more variation from song to song, a little more of their own sound, or another song or two as compelling as the best stuff here and the POBPAH's debut would have been classic. Settling for impressive is fair enough and good enough for fans of loud, fuzzy, and heartfelt indie noise pop." In a mixed review, Maddy Costa of The Guardian wrote 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." PopMatters' Matthew Fiander criticized the album for lack of originality 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."
Pitchfork Media ranked the album #19 on the website's list of The Top 50 Albums of 2009. In addition, the same website ranked the song "Young Adult Friction" #30 on their list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2009.
Personnel
The following people contributed to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: