Getting to Know #10: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

"To me, perfect pop is slightly imperfect."

Featured Artists: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Who are they?
Kip Berman (Vocals / Guitar), Peggy Wang (keyboards / vocals), Alex Naidus (bass) and Kurt Feldman (drums).

Where are they from?
New York City, USA

Three tracks to search out and love:
Kip: "I`d go for `Come Saturday`, `Everything With You` and `Young Adult Friction`." Eagle-eyed fans out there will know this is the band`s last three singles, so good choices all round!

The Skinny
"Our name is taken from an unpublished children`s story written by a friend of mine in Portland, Oregon." explains Pains of Being Pure at Heart frontman Kip Berman. "It`s moral is that the adventures and travels you have with your friends when you`re young are more important than power or title. I think it`s fitting, as we were all friends long before we started the band, and we travel around a lot and have fun together."

The moral has become a motto for New York City`s hottest new act. Since forming in 2007, their rise has been steady, with their music remaining at all times both exciting and naggingly familiar. This clear love of music from a previous and much-loved era prompted me earlier this year to describe their debut album as "like finding a mixtape of some of the finest music from 1988 - 1992 and then realising that every song on it is one you`ve never heard before". However, Kip doesn`t necessarily agree their sound owes everything to this almost forgotten musical epoch.

"We really appreciate the compliment and are grateful you feel that way." he says. "We generally just think of what we do as `pop` and hope it feels seems that way to other people. My favourite sorts of bands are both noisy and melodic at the same time-- to me, perfect pop is slightly imperfect."

However, he will admit that the track `Kurt Cobain`s Cardigan` (which appeared on their self-titled debut EP in 2007) is a cryptic circular reference to the fact the track sounds incredibly like Scottish alternative act The Vaselines, one of the Nirvana frontman`s favourite bands. "Yeah, totally!" he agrees. "Nirvana was one of the first `alternative` bands we knew growing up and they used their celebrity to popularise bands that might otherwise have gone unnoticed, especially in America. The Vaselines was one such band, and later became one of my favourite bands ever."

He continues, "The song is a bit of a thank you note to Kurt Cobain because, despite his unease with being `famous`, he used it to further the bands he cared about, and thanks to him I am now aware of all this music I might have never known." It`s a thank you which must be extended from each and every fan of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their self-titled debut LP, released in early February, has in turn acted as a conduit to long-forgotten alternative acts for this generation, thanks partly to music journalists peppering their reviews with as many references to My Bloody Valentine, The Pastels and Ride as they have superlatives. "I think there are a lot of younger people [coming to see them], especially as we try to play all ages shows as much as possible. We always try to talk to them about older or more obscure bands we`re into, and it`s cool to think they`ll maybe go home and check out Rocketship, The Pastels or Exploding Hearts."

Fittingly, the Pains also cherish the almost-DIY, truly independent nature of this time period. Their records are released as proper events with real care and attention put into the overall package. Recently Pitchfork declared `Ramona` (B-side to former single `Young Adult Friction`) as "maybe their best song to date".

"We`re pretty big vinyl enthusiasts and want to have b-sides that reward people who love 7" singles." continues Kip. "It`s important that there always be something special about that experience. The photography [for cover art to date] is the work of Kendra Rutledge, who lives in Tucson, Arizona and I think goes to high school, has a boyfriend and actually smiles a lot in real life. She also did the art for the new EP, Higher Than the Stars."

`Higher Than the Stars` offers the band a chance to move on to new things with four brand new songs (`Falling Over`, `Twins`, `Higher than the Stars` and live favourite `103` - "we`re going on a national tour in September in the US and it`ll be great to be able to play some new songs" says Kip) but, before that, there`s unfinished business for frenetic album favourite `Come Saturday`. "I think we`re all excited that `Come Saturday` will exist as a vinyl single." he says, blissfully aware that most record company bosses would never allow such a free policy on releases, where such a thing as `scheduling` simply does not exist.

"We don`t take for granted that we get to work with quality people who genuinely love music for all the right reasons." says Kip. "But `indie` doesn`t always mean `morally correct`. There are also plenty of nasty people who work for indie labels, and plenty of genuine, good people who work for majors. Ultimately, what matters most is the quality of the music you make and finding the right label / people that will help it exist in the world. Thankfully, both Slumberland (US) and Fortuna Pop (UK) have been overwhelming great to us."

When asked about playing live, Kip is not short in naming hometown shows as his favourites, but also has a special place in his heart for some of the other venues they`ve played over the past two years. "We`ve had incredible experiences in really different sorts of cities and venues." he says. "There is something special about playing in New York, as we have so many people we know that have been coming to see us since we played our first show at Peggy`s birthday party. But we`ve had incredible times in London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Sweden, Toronto and Winooski, Vermont-- to name only a few."

With a growing number of shows, as more and more fans clamour to see the band live, it`s likely the Pains of Being Pure at Heart will need some decent tour bus entertainment. Perhaps, in tribute to the late John Hughes, they`d like to select one of his classic 80`s high school movies - all of which would have benefitted from a song so archetypally awkward as `Teenager in Love` playing through a mid-movie montage. Any film in particular guys?

"I don`t know that much about movies," sighs Kip. "But Kurt [Feldman, drums, whose other band The Depreciation Guild carry on outside the Pains` success. "Our second album comes out in January, 2010 -- there will be some touring in the US / Europe to support that." he says] is really into the movie Teen Witch [the 1989 `classic` starring Robyn Lively], about a teenager who is also a witch."

Perhaps one for the Depreciation Guild tour bus then.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart release `Come Saturday` on 24th August and `Higher than the Stars EP` on 21st September - both through Fortuna Pop.

Posted on 12 August 2009 by Richard Brown

Tags: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Interview Kip Berman Kurt Feldman

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Getting to Know #10: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

"To me, perfect pop is slightly imperfect."

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