Nowadays the term buzz band"" has become something of a taboo. A well-received EP can carry a band farther than ever due to the heightened accessibility of the Internet, but too frequently it also spells an LP of unrealized hype for many bands coming up in this fashion. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's 2007 self-titled EP didn't exactly burn up the charts, but it certainly grabbed the attention of those who heard it. Instead of taking this praise as an opportunity to rush out an LP of underdeveloped, overproduced songs, POBPAH took their time and crafted a masterpiece of early '90s indie pop in their eponymous debut LP.
Combining wall-of-fuzz guitar textures reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine or M83 with a lighter, jangly undertone, POBPAH create a scene of Belle and Sebastian playing The Stone Roses or Asobi Seksu covering Teenage Fanclub. The swaying melodies are irresistibly catchy, bottling up pure enthusiasm inside the distortion-laden guitars.
Seemingly every song is fixated on heartbreak, pain or some form of emotional suffering, but they still sound like fun. That duality may be possibly the most refreshing thing about the band. They play love/loss songs that don't bog you down with emotions, mostly because they're having too much fun. It's a fresh take on relationships in which not everything needs to be scrutinized. We can be blissful without being ignorant, it just takes a greater level of appreciation for what we have.
The album's first single, ""Everything With You,"" is solid gold, but so are most of these tracks. This album has no mistakes. Songs like ""Come Saturday"" and ""Hey Paul"" are just asking to be blasted at your next get-together. A truly clever name, ""Young Adult Friction"" is a rousing jam about an intimate encounter ""between the stacks in the library"" that swells to a stirring chant of ""don't check me out."" Less short-lived than succinct, POBPAH manages to package all of their glee in tightly wound tracks eclipsing four minutes only three times.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart is a surprisingly complete album for a debut, but that doesn't mean there's no room for progress. Without ever sounding redundant each song sounds similar enough that there's no real closure at the end. However, the fact that POBPAH utilizes sounds and textures from their influences without ever using them as a crutch hints their future will continue to be bright.
To this point, POBPAH has proven itself immune to the ""buzz"" taboo. They might not be dynamic enough to expand the tiers of indie rock, but they seem stable enough not to crash and burn. Regardless of their future, though, what they have in their debut is a real gem, and any scrutinization about what will follow would be to oppose their will. We should just enjoy it.
