Artist The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Annie Powers
Annie Powers
Annie Powers

Website
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Here’s a New York success story: A band with a ridiculous name kicks around the city for a while, gets signed to the eminent indie-pop label Slumberland, and releases a self-titled album with enough hooks and high harmonies to please most everyone, from Belle & Sebastian fans to connoisseurs of near-forgotten twee acts like Rocketship and Black Tambourine. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart also knows to strike while the iron is hot: The band released the EP Higher Than The Stairs less than eight months after its first record, and the second full-length, Belong, dropped earlier this year. Belong is a more dense, electronically diverse selection of songs that trade in more influences—but which also round out the group’s individuality.

Updated 10/04/2011