The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (album)

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 in the United States and Fortuna Pop! in the United Kingdom. The album was recorded at Honeyland Studios in Brooklyn, New York, and was mixed by Archie Moore. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released to generally warm critical reception.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Studio album by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Released	February 3, 2009 (2009-02-03)
Recorded	Summer 2008
Studio	Honeyland Studios (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre	Indie pop noise pop dream pop
Length	34:58
Label	Slumberland Fortuna Pop!
Producer	The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
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
"Everything with You" Released: November 17, 2008 (2008-11-17) "Young Adult Friction" Released: March 31, 2009 (2009-03-31) "Come Saturday" Released: September 8, 2009 (2009-09-08)

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]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[3]
Metacritic	76/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	A−[5]
Blender	[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Irish Times	[8]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Uncut	[12]

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."[4] NME's Nathaniel Cramp praised the album as "pure indie-pop to hold close to your heart."[10] Pitchfork accorded the album a "Best New Music" designation, and the site's Ian Cohen wrote that the band had "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."[11] Robert Christgau of MSN Music said of the band: "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."[9]

AllMusic's Tim Sendra was more reserved in his praise, writing that the album would have benefited from "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", but nonetheless concluding: "Settling for impressive is fair enough and good enough for fans of loud, fuzzy, and heartfelt indie noise pop."[1] 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."[7] 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."[13]

Pitchfork ranked The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at number 19 on its list of the best albums of 2009,[14] while the song "Young Adult Friction" placed at number 30 on its list of the best tracks of 2009.[15] In 2018, Pitchfork ranked the album at number 28 on its list of the 30 best dream pop albums.[16]

Track listing

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

No.	Title	Length
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

Personnel

Credits for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart adapted from album liner notes.[17]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

• Kip Berman – guitar, vocals
• Kurt Feldman – drums
• Alex Naidus – bass guitar
• Peggy Wang – keyboards, vocals

Production

• Jon Chaikin – remastering
• Archie Moore – audio engineering, mixing

Artwork and design

• Kendra Rutledge – cover photography
• Pavla Kopecna – inside photography

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18]	9
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[19]	37

References

1. Sendra, Tim. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". AllMusic. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
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 reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
4. "Reviews for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Metacritic. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Christgau, Robert (August 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
10. 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.
11. Cohen, Ian (February 6, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
12. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". Uncut (141): 89. February 2009.
13. Fiander, Matthew (February 4, 2009). "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart". PopMatters. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
14. "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork. December 17, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
15. "The Top 100 Tracks of 2009". Pitchfork. December 14, 2009. p. 8. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
16. "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums". Pitchfork. April 16, 2018. p. 1. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
17. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (liner notes). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Slumberland Records. 2009. SLR 89.CS1 maint: others (link)
18. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
19. "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2018.