The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (album)

The album's sound has been compared to My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Field Mice, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.[1][2]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released in the United States on February 3, 2009 by Slumberland Records.[3][4] In other territories, the album was released by different labels, including Fortuna Pop! in Europe, Lost & Lonesome Recording Co. in Australia, and Fastcut Records in Japan.[4]

Three singles were released from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: "Everything with You" on October 14, 2008,[5] "Young Adult Friction" on March 31, 2009,[6] and "Come Saturday" on September 8, 2009.[7]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[8]
Metacritic	76/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	A−[10]
Blender	[11]
The Guardian	[12]
The Irish Times	[13]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−[14]
NME	8/10[15]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[16]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Uncut	[17]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregation website Metacritic, the album holds a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9] NME's Nathaniel Cramp praised it as "pure indie-pop to hold close to your heart."[15] Pitchfork accorded the album a "Best New Music" designation, with reviewer Ian Cohen writing that the band had "made a slyly confident debut that mixes sparkling melodies with an undercurrent of sad bastard mopery".[16] David Bevan of The A.V. Club called the band "sensitive and sublime",[10] while Robert Christgau of MSN Music said of them: "Not only do they have a sound, they have tunes, and the words bring both home."[14]

AllMusic critic Tim Sendra was more reserved in his praise, finding that the album would have benefited from "a little more variation from song to song, a little more of [the band's] own sound, or another song or two as compelling as the best stuff here", while concluding: "Settling for impressive is fair enough and good enough for fans of loud, fuzzy, and heartfelt indie noise pop."[1] Maddy Costa of The Guardian concluded 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."[12] PopMatters' Matthew Fiander found the band overly derivative 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."[18]

Pitchfork ranked The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at number 19 on its list of the best albums of 2009,[19] while "Young Adult Friction" placed at number 30 on the website's list of the best tracks of the year.[20] In 2018, Pitchfork listed The Pains of Being Pure at Heart as the 28th best dream pop album.[21]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[22][23]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

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

Production

• Jon Chaikin – mastering
• Archie Moore – engineering, mixing

Design

• Pavla Kopecna – inside photography (CD edition), back cover photography (LP edition)
• Kendra Rutledge – front cover photography

• The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Discogs (list of releases)