Tripwire: Interview with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

February 19, 2009


It seems like just yesterday that one relatively unsung song from this band inspired self-conscious debate over New York's place in twee history, and now they are Best New Music on Pitchfork and surely destined for some kind of elevated status (or a second album review consisting of a dog peeing on a cat). So it is with a tinge of instant nostalgia that we read The Tripwire interview with the band which is both innocent, darling and about 9,000 words long. Read it, read our review of the album from our new issue after the jump, and then prepare to see Pains who are currently on tour in the US.






The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

(Slumberland)


The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is a band name, and though it is not a sentence it is a mood. But "This Love is Fucking Right!" is a sentence, and it's the fourth song on their pleasant self-titled debut album of lo-fidelity Glaswegian-style pop. Except they're from New york, which speaks to the internationality of feeling emotional about everything and wanting to excise through droning high notes, softly cascading guitar and a man and a woman wrapping their voices like a candy cane. But they are not a Belle & Sebastian cover because then they couldn't also sound like The Smiths.

-Matthew Schnipper

Tripwire: Interview with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart