The New York indie-pop purveyors revisit their debut album in fine style!
Ooh, this one looks like it’s going to be special. NYC quintet The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart originally surfaced towards the end of the noughties with a debut album that married swoonsome indie-pop melodies with Ramones-esque energy and buzzsaw guitars, and whilst it didn’t make them as huge as it should have done, they still built a strong cult following.
Tonight, the final night of a successful UK tour, they’re playing it in full to what feels more like a gathering of friends than a crowd of random gig-goers, and there’s a palpable aura of excitement in the air. Oh, and friendliness too – cheers to the five people who complimented me on my Senseless Things t-shirt! The rather beautiful Betsey Trotwood is sold out (in less than an hour, apparently), and my goodness, we are ready.
First, Sunny Intervals take us “back to 2008”, making us feel nostalgic with piano-led odes to “queueing for the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s”. Pink Opaque, meanwhile come across like a more mischievous Human League, with the likes of ‘Bringing Back The Humans’ and a catchy Buffy-themed tune deservedly getting a few folks sashaying away near the front.
All Ashore, like all the best indie-pop bands, look like a bunch of random folks who bonded over music. With a couple of them dressed as sailors, they soon prove their collective ear for a catchy tune; calling a song ‘Perfect Popsong’ is a gutsy move, but nearly 24 hours later, I’m still humming it to myself. Go figure! Be sure to check out their debut album – the wonderfully-titled ‘Stayin’ Afloat’.
The headliners start off gently with the winsome jangle of ‘’Contender’, but we all know what’s coming next – the adrenalised punk-pop rush of ‘Come Saturday’, with guitars so gloriously fuzzed-up, they’re like musical bees. BEES, I tell you! They sound just as fantastic as they did at the Brixton Windmill way back in 2009, and although he doesn’t say much, singer/guitarist Kip is clearly delighted that these songs still mean so much to us.
The real treat, though, comes halfway through, with the brace of ‘Stay Alive’ and ‘Everything With You’. There are seriously spine-tingling moments on the former, as Kip and keyboard player Peggy harmonise on the distortion-soaked chorus, and then the latter sparks some good-natured pogoing in the audience. There’s barely room to breathe down the front by now, but that just heightens the sense of intimacy, and by the time they close with a three-song encore of other old favourites, the venue is a mass of supremely sweaty smiles.
Cynics will, of course, dismiss this as a mere revival of past glories, but if you’re gonna step back in time, you might as well do a great job of it – and that’s certainly true of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. In truth, tonight feels less like nostalgia than a reminder that we could do with a few more bands like this right now. Hey, writing tunes of this calibre isn’t as easy as these folks make it look, y’know. Huge thanks to them for having me!
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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