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

Slumberland Records

Brooklyn’s Pains of Being Pure At Heart craft lush, plush, airy twee pop that merits listening to between doses of Camera Obscura and shoe-gazey Peter, Bjorn and John while driving along the coast on a sun-drenched day. You’ll hear obvious muses: Morrissey, Velocity Girl, My Bloody Valentine, Echo & The Bunnymen, and The Smiths. But just when you think the reverb and synth is getting too woozy for comfort and vocalist Kip Berman is ‘ooh’-ing too frequently, the band throws out a strong bassline and hook that tapers the saccharine. “Stay Alive,” 80’s bop-pop “A Teenager In Love,” and “Gentle Sons” will give you toe-tapping, carefree sugar highs.