Over the past few weeks, while everyone was sexually gratifying themselves to the new Animal Collective (no offence, I listened to it too), I enjoyed an upcoming release from Slumberland Records. The self-titled debut from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is out soon and has already been added to my canon of great albums from 2009 (the only entry so far besides Face Control by Handsome Furs).
Although they sound like indie pop from London, Bristol, or Glasgow, the Pains are actually a group of stateside (New York, New York) fans of the British independent music of the ’80s and ’90s they’ve so accurately recreated. Specifically, they idolize the unclean jangly guitars, hushed vocals, and steady drumming of bands from the C86 scene, the peaceful Sarah Records, and others moving all the way into the shoegaze experiments of Creation Records. To pinpoint it as closely as possible, they sound like Strawberry Wine-era My Bloody Valentine (thanks Victor) or maybe Another Sunny Day (which I’ve included at the bottom of the post so you can be the judge).
In 2009, some 29 years after the indie pop was born (citing the first release on Postcard Records), it’s still going strong. Check out Slumberland and Shelflife for other bands that refuse to grow up!
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – A Teenager in Love
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Tenure Itch
Another Sunny Day – You Should All Be Murdered (Sarah Records /1989)
1 Comment
mmm great post. also on my ’09 faves. MAN it’s not even the end of the month and there have been suuuuch great releases already =)
— dona, January 13, 2009
