Since forming in early 2007, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart have become one of the most talked about pop bands in years. Their distinctive brand of noisy pop is a tidy distillation of all the great noise-pop precedents - early MBV, House of Love, Pale Saints, Rocketship - but with that incredible exuberance and energy that the Pains bring to every song. They have released a handful of singles on classy labels like Slumberland, Fortuna Pop!, Atomic Beat and Cloudberry, each one issued to greater anticipation and even wilder reception. Critical acclaim has come from such varied quarters as Stereogum, Fader, Big Takeover, Indie Pages, Skatterbrain, Drowned In Sound, Indie-MP3, Clash Magazine and uncountable others.

"The Pains of Being Pure At Heart" delivers on this promise with perfect assurance. Smashing tunes like “Come Saturday” and “Young Adult Friction” are classic three minute masterpieces that simply beg the be played on repeat. “Stay Alive” and “Gentle Sons” show the band can slow it down and still rock it, and “Hey Paul” is as brash a slice of noise-blast guitar pop as you’ll hear all year. Weighing in at a flawlessly-conceived ten songs, this is all the album that Pains fans had hoped for. Handily transcending easy pigeonholes like “indie pop” and “indie rock,” it is just a great album that shows a smart young band fulfilling their potential and crafting a very convincing statement of purpose.