Posts tagged The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Playlist from Moogie Wonderland 24 June

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7 months ago
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Last night was our second DJing experience, and it was rather a contrast to the first time around.  It was all rather last minute, meaning I didn’t have five weeks to fret about song choices.  It was in a coffee shop instead of a bar with a dance floor, and given the rain and other factors, there wasn’t exactly a big turnout.  Didn’t matter though as I still ended up enjoying myself immensely.  Here’s what I played:

1. – Tell Me Something I Don’t Know

2. Belle & Sebastian – Your Cover’s Blown

3. – The Mild Mannered Army

4. – Banned at the Troxy

5. – Carve a Pattern

6. – Lost Weekend

7. – Hopelessly Wasted

8. – You Can Hide Your Love Forever

9. – C Is The Option

10. – Perfection As A Hipster

11. – True Love/Youth

12. – Your Feelings Don’t Show

13. – My Terrible Friend

14. – Higher Grounds

15. – I Love You Like A Madman

16. – Dinner Party

17. Allo Darlin’ – Let’s Go Swimming

18. – Cross the Line

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Heart In Your Heartbreak

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10 months ago
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The new Pains album came out this week, and I for one am absolutely loving it. The first album took a while to grow on me, but this one seems infinitely more immediate. Which probably means I’ll end up hating it six months from now, but no matter.

The one thing that the Pains have always been great at are their videos. Each one fit the style of the band perfectly, be it the Super 8 loveliness of Young Adult Friction or Everything With You through to the slightly more whimsical Higher Than The Stars and Say No To Love.

This though, I don’t really like at all.  Which is a shame as the song is probably my favourite form the album.  The video is far too mid-90s MTV2 for my liking though.  Don’t get me wrong, I associate a lot of bands I love with that era, but absolutely aren’t one that I’d put into that category.  Maybe I’m just being a snob and I’ll come round on it over time, but it seems like something of a misstep to me.

Belong is out now on PIAS (apparently) and the band will be visiting London to play the Electric Ballroom on June 8.  Where they are now a £14 a ticket band.  Wow.

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Top 24 Songs of 2010

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1 year ago
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The song list this year has a lot of crossover with the records list from yesterday.  I suppose that is to be expected to a certain degree, but I get it’s a little repetitive for me to be banging on about the same bands over and over again.  Still, that’s the nature of these lists, and I’m not going to throw in other things for the sake of it.

1. ! – A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State, or, Letters from Me to Charlotte

Los Campesinos! manage to win the double, taking both best record and song of the year.  If I’m perfectly honest, the song choice is pretty arbitrary.  Letters from Me to Charlotte just about stands out in front to me, but it could have just as easily been The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future or In Medias Res.  Or about half of the album to be honest.

2. – Fairweather Friends

Another one where I spent a fair bit of time trying to decide exactly which song from the record to go with, before settling on Fairweather Friends.  It’s probably best represents the EP, as well as the Superman Revenge Squad project as a whole.  The usual topics are on the agenda here: death, looking back on past relationships and irritating people at gigs.  All topped off with some beautiful strings.

MP3 Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends

3. – Dancing


Dancing is probably the most personal song on the Standard Fare album, yet it still sums up the band perfectly.  You’ve got heart on sleeve verses about breakups and getting back together interspersed with rapid sections about how dancing will make everything okay.  If any band could sum up the state of the current indiepop scene, it’s this.

MP3 Standard Fare – Dancing

4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart just bring good feelings.  I was slower to warm to them than most, but in the past year, I’ve fallen for them completely.  Say No to Love is a lovely little bridge between the first and second albums, and while it doesn’t mess with the formula too much, it’s just too wonderful for me to complain about that.  Quite possibly my favourite current band for videos too.

MP3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love

5. – Try Try Try

This song pretty much hit me out of nowhere in the summer when I saw Antarctica Takes It! live twice in a couple of days.   I was only familiar with their first album at that point, so Try Try Try was quite a surprise as there’s nothing like it on there.  The vocals on it might not be as strong as some of their others, but the lyrics and the way it’s constructed more than make up for that.

6. – Rabbit Kids

I love pretty much everything on Life! Death! Prizes! so you get Rabbit Kids pretty much entirely because I love the video so much.

7. – Harriet, by Proxy

It’d be easy to dismiss Johnny Foreigner at this point.  Two albums in and they haven’t achieved the success they rightly deserve, but hopefully a shift to the plucky Alcopop! will give them a new boost.  The brilliantly titled new EP You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears And That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With The Sky So Clear And Sea So Calm shows the band exploring newer territory too.  Harriet, by Proxy is the most obviously JoFo song on there, and reminds us exactly why we were so excited about the band in 2007.

Listen on Music Fan’s Mic

8. Allo Darlin’ – Dreaming

Allo Darlin’ could do no wrong this year, and Dreaming was the pinnacle of their work.  The song features the guest vocals of Monster Bobby that gives this a rather -ish vibe, which is no bad thing.  The video was shot during London Popfest last year and is just lovely.  Wandering around London late at night has never looked so enjoyable.

9. – Smash Hits

Quite possibly the oldest song to be included here, but I only discovered it this year, and it was on Kid Canaveral’s debut album this year, so I’m going with it.  A brilliantly snobbish tale of the horrors of dating a girl whose “music taste’s shite” that’s just great fun.

10. The – I Need Your Mind

I came late to The Broken Family Band party, so I’m jumping in early with Singing Adams, the new band of BFB front man Steven Adams.  If you’re already familiar with his former band, you know what to expect here.  The alt-country leanings may have been toned down considerably, but there’s more than enough of the same catchy pop sensibilities and witty lyrics to go around.  As a debut single, I Need Your Mind is remarkably self-assured and firmly cements the band as one to go to big things this year.

11. – Euston Station


12. Belle & Sebastian – I Want the World to Stop


One of the few bright lights from a horrendously disappointing album.

13. – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?

Playful enough to be a nice easy listen, while also resonating a little more for those who have been in such a situation.  Exactly what any good pop record should be doing then.

MP3 Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?

14. – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)

This Many Boyfriends continue the long indiepop tradition of entirely songs based around references to other bands.  Not just the Pastels either.  Springsteen, The Go-Betweens and if I’m not mishearing, The Cribs all manage to get themselves mentioned in the song.  There’s not much more to it beyond these references, but it still has a rather endearing charm to it.  It sounds rough and ready, which is about the only style you can go with when your spending three minutes comparing music tastes with a loved one.

MP3 This Many Boyfriends – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)

15. – Boyfriend Devoted

16. Stagecoach – Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK

Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK (which the nerd in me really hopes is a Buffy reference) may be their finest release yet, striking the perfect balance between 90s US indie rock throwback and their own sound.  If any band has a chance of making it big in 2011, it’s Stagecoach.

17. – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book

A glorious tale that manages to combine two somewhat conflicting topics: religion and masturbation.  It’s hard to imagine many bands that could get away with lyrics like “struggling with the word of god / a hand on my bible, a hand on my knob”, putting The Just Joans into a rather unique position.

MP3 The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book

18. – The Winter Stories

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19. – Afraid of Everyone

20. – Whitechapel Boys

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21. – Are Philosophers Lonely?

Short and to the point, Are Philosophers Lonely? addresses exactly what the title suggests.  Are philosophers destined to be by themselves?  Moving between wryly comic images (philosophers eating tv dinners) and something rather more melancholy (“even their sweethearts don’t know what they’re talking about”).

MP3 Soda Fountain Rag – Are Philosophers Lonely?

22. – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two

City of Glass, the debut album by Love Ends Disaster! was a favourite of the year, and while there’s some stunning songs on it, it’s this one that stands out.  Conventional wisdom would suggest I was swayed by a Doctor Who reference, but there’s more to it than that.  That might have got my attention in the first place, but it’s just a really good song regardless.  There’s the kind of melancholy vibe that always works for me, but it also has the “this should really be a hit anthem” quality to it too.  Throw in some actual TARDIS sounds as well and you’re on to a winner.

MP3 Love Ends Disaster! – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two (live)

23. – I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me

I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me is literally what it sounds like, a joyous celebration of the fact that a woman seems to like our narrator, despite the fact he knows absolutely nothing about her. Why let pesky details like that get in the way? That we end up with lines like “I can’t wait to tell my girlfriend” makes it all the more perfect.

MP3 Roadside Poppies – I’ve Just Been Told That A Woman Fancies Me

24. – The Bike Song

The Grave Architects really don’t sound like anything I’d expect a band (presumably) named after a Pavement song to sound like.  The first part of the song might just get away with it.  A little on the quaint side perhaps, but what do you expect for a song that starts “the first love of my life was not a girl, it was my very first bike”?  It tells a fun little story of learning how to ride a bike and falling in love with cycling.  Then about a minute in, it turns into, of all things, a rap epic.  Yes, rap.  And somehow it gets away with it.  Nothing I can say here is going to do justice to a terribly white man with his fluorescent shirt and cycle helmet rapping about evil motorists cutting him up.  Of course, that’s not it.  It then decides to just rock out a bit, proclaiming, with full earnestness “I love my bike!” over and over.  It’s all utterly stupid, but every time I watch the video above I find myself grinning from ear to ear.  I think my favourite part of it is actually watching the people biking in the background and their reaction to the singer’s antics.  Brilliant stuff.

Review: Indietracks 2010 – Sunday

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1 year ago
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Friday and Saturday can be found here.

SUNDAY

Stumbling out of the Travelodge at dawn (around 10:30), it was decided that Sunday would be the day that things were really mixed up.  By which I mean we went to Sainsburys for breakfast instead of Tesco.  It cost a little more, and the service was a little bit slower, but it was rather more tasty, so that’s a good result I think.

Shambling onto the site just before the first bands on, it was time for another superb new discovery.  are a Scottish band that were apparently playing their first gig in England, and they couldn’t seem happier about it.  I went into them with a sense of trepidation given the song they included on the Indietracks CD featured rapping.  Which may be the one genre that still absolutely doesn’t fit in with Indietracks.  Fears were quickly dismissed though as the band turned out to be rather more poppy than expected, and by the time they reached the aforementioned song, I was even willing to go with it.  As was everyone in the shed it seems.  If there was one band I kept hearing about again and again that people seemed to love, it was Be Like Pablo.  Hopefully big things, and more gigs in the south, await them in the next year.

It was over to the main stage next where were playing in the self-titled “Legends slot”.  Now rather shamefully, this was my first Validators gig (though I have seen Dinosaur Planet!), and it was awesome just how much the whole crowd was into them.  The band run through what was essentially a greatest hits set (along with a few from the new record of course) including Hey Hey 16k, My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once and the highlight of the set, Do The Indie Kid, which actually featured almost the whole audience following the steps.  Hibbett also found time to conduct a “social media experiment” mid-set, so if you were wondering why everyone at Indietracks suddenly tweeted “Happiness” on the Sunday afternoon, that would be why.

There appeared to be a crowd in the merch tent afterwards, and venturing in, it was a delight to discover performing a acoustic set in the corner.  There wasn’t really anything new here compared to their set yesterday, but it was nice to hear that their songs work just as well in such a stripped down fashion.

were apparently the hit of the festival in 2009, playing a stunning set to a packed out church, and this year they were back, but in the shed where a huge number had turned out to see them.  If I’m honest, they didn’t do very much for me.  Nothing really wrong with them, and I can see that their garage rock kind of sounds would work well on record, but I left the shed feeling pretty cold toward them unfortunately.  Kind of hard to not respect a band that plays in capes though.

There was a gap in the schedule at this point, which meant it was time to explore the surrounding railway and it’s museum, something I missed entirely last year.  While dusty, the museum provided a welcome relaxing and quiet break from the festivities.  There’s even a lovely little narrow gauge railway that will run you out into the countryside and back again too!

Back to the shed for , a band that I still can’t be certain if they are taking the piss or not.  Utterly shambolic and ramshackle, the band power through a set that barely clocks in at 25 minutes, and manage to find time to get a Dire Straits cover into that.  It’s all over the place, and a complete mess, but it’s horribly entertaining.  You’ve got to admire their drumming skills at least.

are band that have risen quickly through the indiepop ranks over the past year.  They were well received at London Popfest in February, and even managed to nab themselves a decent slot at Latitude the weekend previous to Indietracks.  As a band, they always seem rather nervous on stage, and still somewhat shocked that people have turned up to see them, but it only adds to their charm.  The band bound through the songs from their debut album, even throwing in some new ones along the way that get an equally welcome reception.  By the time they bring out Brad from One Happy Island to add a little trumpet to one of their new songs, the audience are eating out of their hand, and a future Indietracks headline slot is surely inevitable.

are an odd band.  I first heard them a year ago and couldn’t really stand them.  Then at London Popfest I actually quite enjoyed their set, and since then I’ve gone on to get both of their albums.  Their recorded output doesn’t manage to live up to the show that they put on live though, or rather, how much front woman Helen really throws herself into the performance.  The songs from the new album turn out to be the unexpected highlights though, with current -esque single Tights in August and The Habit Creep sure to be amongst this year’s indiepop anthems.

After that there was just time for a little before it was time for my Indietracks to come to an end.  Sadly work commitments meant having to leave before the headliners took to the stage.  This was very unfortunate at the time, but the band played a secret gig last night (as George Washington’s Penis no less) that I was able to get to, so all is right in the world once more.  Huzzah!

Indietracks still remains my favourite festival on the musical calender.  I’ve mostly written about the bands in these posts, but there’s so much more that makes it what it is.  Primarily how friendly just about every single person you meet is.  Bands wander the site and mingle with everyone else (leading to lovely chats with MJ Hibbett, Eddie Argos and at least one Smitten, amongst others), and even the volunteers who work on the railway.  You’d think they would be entirely baffled, if not slightly put out, at this descending on them every year, but every single one of them seemed lovely.  I even managed to have an excellent conversation with an older man who quite happily told me about how he usually restores the train but is perfectly happy to be here directing cars and picking up our rubbish this weekend.  In amongst stories of hotels at Heathrow Airport.

Of course, discussions about just who should play next year are already in full swing, but honestly, it doesn’t really matter.  If the Indietracks team came up with a list of 50 bands I’d never heard of before, I’d still go, perfectly trusting in their abilities to select ideal bands and put on a perfect weekend.

Video: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No To Love

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1 year ago
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are knocking it out of the park video wise of late.  Following on from their superb one for Higher Than the Stars last month, they’ve now got one for their recently released single, Say No To Love.  What I love about Pains videos is that they are always absolutely perfect for their music.  While I am a fan of the band, if I’m honest, I occasionally find them a little samey on record.  Each of their videos has been so utterly perfect for the song it attaches to.  Each is different, yet they all seem to have a consistent style to them.  I can’t really describe what it is, but I really like it.  I’m not the greatest fan of music videos, but if there was a DVD released of Pains videos, I’d buy it tomorrow.  You hear that, Fortuna Pop! or Slumberland?

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New: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No To Love

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1 year ago
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Well, isn’t this lovely?  I’ve been on a huge Pains of Being Pure at Heart (or POBPAH as the kids call ‘em) kick of late, so to have this little gem drop into the inbox yesterday really made my night.  As the band start to move beyond their debut album and presumably toward album number two here, we’ve got a song here that decides not to mess with the formula.  Given how good that first album was, it’s probably a wise call.  If you know the band already, you know exactly what to expect here.  If you don’t, you’re in for distortion, dreamy vocals and some nice little callbacks to the 80s.

MP3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No To Love

Say No To Love, along with it’s b-side Lost Saint will be released on July 29.  It’ll be one of those 7″ only affairs by the looks of it.  I assume it’ll be on Fortuna Pop!, but the press release helpfully didn’t mention that fact.  The band will of course also be headlining Indietracks on the Sunday night.

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Indietracks lineup takes shape

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1 year ago
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Video: Indietracks 2009 in 7 Minutes by LastNightFromGlasgow

The Indietracks lineup seems to be pretty much complete now (though a few more bands are still to come) with Everybody Was In The French Resistance… Now and both being added to the bill.  Perhaps more excitingly though, the day by day breakdowns have now been announced, giving us a festival that looks something like this:

Friday

Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now, Allo Darlin’, Veronica Falls

Saturday

, Love is All, , , , White Town, , Boy Genius, Cineplexx, , , , , , Betty and the Werewolves, , Linda Guilala, The Give It Ups, , Foxes!, The Hillfields, , Paisley and Charlie, Micktravis, Jam On Bread, Lime Chalks

Sunday

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, , , Slow Club, Springfactory, Stars of Aviation, Shrag, , Sarandon, The Cannanes, Internet Forever, The Sunny Street, Printed Circuit, The Blanche Hudson Weekend, The Millipedes, , Onward Chariots, , Standard Fare, MJ Hibbett and the Validators, , , Mexican Kids at Home, The Middle Ones, Yokoko, Clint Play People

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.  On a personal level, the lineup is quite nice for me with a decent split across the days of the bands that I like, though it looks like Sunday has the possibility of being clash central.  Not that it matters too much at Indietracks though.  I had great fun last year watching bands I hadn’t even heard of even if I didn’t get to see all of the ones I would have liked to.

Indietracks takes place between 23-25 July at the Midland Railway Centre in Swanwick, located a little way off of the M1 north of Nottingham.  Bands play across four stages, one of which is located in a moving steam train.  Various workshops and discos happen around the site, and it’s quite simply the nicest place you’ll ever go.  Tickets cost £60 for all three days or £32.50 per day, and can be purchased here.

Video: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars

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1 year ago
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I like the way that The Pains of Being at Heart do things.  The band are about to release a new single called Say No to Love, and so here, for no real reason, is a new video for last year’s Higher Than the Stars. It’s not a single, nor is it new, and yet here is a brand new video that manages to be absolutely suited to it.  The band have gone from being a band I sort of liked a few months ago to one I can’t stop playing now, and songs like this are the reason for that.  That they will be closing out Indietracks on the Sunday night couldn’t be more perfect.

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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart to headline Indietracks!

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1 year ago
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Well it was never going to be anyone else, was it?  If you’ve been following any of the vigorous debate over on Anorak about possible headliners and exactly what makes an “Indietracks band”, one name kept coming up again and again: .

Since the release of their first full-length album on a year ago the band have been absolutely everywhere.  Critical acclaim has poured in from just about every music publication in the world.  Even Pitchfork felt it appropriate to award it a “Best New Music” badge, which was the only time they did so in 2009 for a record that wasn’t turgid nonsense.  The band have gone on to play sell-out gigs all over the place, including a bunch of festivals, but I believe this will be their first headlining of one.

It’s the perfect place though.  The Pains of Being Pure at Heart manage to successfully bridge the gap between the C86 generation of indiepop and the bands of the present.  This is jangly, starry pop that’s going to sound lovely on a summer’s night surrounded by steam trains.

MP3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars

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About Indietracks 2010

Indietracks takes place between 23-25 July at the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire.  The site is a working steam railway with festival attendees allowed on as many train rides as they can handle.  Some performances are even held in carriages.  Tickets cost £55 for the weekend until May 7 (£60 after that) and can be purchased here.  Previously announced bands include , , Allo Darlin’, and .

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