New Music Reviews: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart-Belong

"Belong" has got to be one of the most enjoyable listens in 2011 so far. Some albums beg you to dig deeper and keep you playing multiple times until you find some beauty in it. Other albums keep you at arms length not allowing you to penetrate the surface, but maybe if you're in the right mood you'll catch the vibe. No, no, let's just scratch those scenarios. "Belong", the sophomore album from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, asks you simply to listen, embrace its wall of polished sound, and smile. And that's what we have here. An album that invokes memories of late 80's/early 90's alternative music before it took itself too serious. It's warm and inviting like a hug from an old friend (one who you welcome the hug from, of course.)

At thirty eight minutes length, "Belong" goes by swiftly. And it will make you want to start back from the beginning again. Purists may want something more gritty which is fair-play but I ask, "When are you gonna ever just sit back and have fun in the moment?" Here's your chance.

The polished sound, which may cause those grumbles, comes from the guidance of Flood and Alan Moulder who had their hands in production and mixes of a lot of 90's staples from U2 to Nine Inch Nails to the Jesus and Mary Chain. The train stays on track as melodies and hooks lurk behind the clean distortion of every song. Opener "Belong" for instance bellows into heavy and slick guitars like it was 1992. "Heart In Your Heartbreak" and "My Terrible Friend" glide along on Cure like keyboard lines you once envisioned creating on a casio. "Anne With An E" and "Strange" whisper memories of your old favorite Pulp song. And "Heaven's Gonna Happen Now" has enough bouncy energy to carry it to the bottom of your heart...and that's before the guitars go into overdrive in a show stopping chorus.

A drawback to new listeners may be Kip Berman's voice which is very thin and a bit on the waferish side. But I guess that's the trademark of a good "Twee-Pop" singer. If the music is sweet, then Berman's voice is the salty. Together, it's like a good trail mix (Comparing "Belong" to trail mix wasn't on my agenda when I first listened, but now that it's out, what the hell...it's like good trail mix.) Also, not groundbreaking is the lyrics. Sometimes self depreciating ("We just don't belong"..sigh..on "Belong") or adolescence coming of age ("Tell me again what the body's for/cuz I can't feel it anymore" on "The Body"). But I'm willing to even look past that because youthful joy is what "Belong" is aiming for in spirit. The heart in your heartbreak....the miss in your mistake...it's all youthful gravy. Sometimes, the best pop songs in history are written out of teenage frustration and isolation.

It's not an album that historians are going to point to as a figurehead in music in 2011. It may even find its place in bargain bins in the future. But let's live for the moment. If you liked the Cure and the Smiths in the eighties, you're going to like "Belong". If you liked the big guitar washes on early nineties acts like Curve and Smashing Pumpkins, you're going to like "Belong". If one of the pains of being pure at heart is adorable, then this band has thrown a turkey in the tenth frame because it will leave you just wanting to give it a big embrace. And that's my definition of an album that will make you give a wild smile....and there ain't nothing wrong with that. Let's give "Belong" the first A of the year, shall we....for the youth's sake.

Grade: A

JHO Picks:
Heaven's Gonna Happen Now
Heart In Your Heartbreak
My Terrible Friend
Strange

  Heavens Gonna Happen Now - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart by Librarians Wanted

  The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Heart In Your Heartbreak" by Collective Sounds

  My Terrible Friend-The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart by David Tipto

Source: http://www.jhostation.com/2011/04/new-music-reviews-pains-of-being-pure.html

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