The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Today's Music That Jason Kind of Likes But Isn't Quite Sure About is The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, by (surprise!) the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. This album, which I think is their debut album, came to me via eMusic by way of the AV Club. Therefore, I have almost no background on the band itself, at least until I wander into Wikipedia again. So let's get down to business.

The Pains have a sound that falls somewhere between the Magnetic Fields and The Cure, with maybe a touch of early R.E.M. mixed in there somewhere. This might give you the impression that the record is something monumental, but that would be an overstatement; however, it's energetic and light, worth listening to if your music doesn't have to be overly pretentious all the time.

This album is full of fuzzy, bouncy rock music. Sometimes it's tender, sometimes it is boisterous, but it is never dull. I would be curious to see what kind of ballads The Pains would put together, if they could even do such a thing; the band seems to have a special metronome that can't be set particularly low. The drummer for the Pains must be some kind of animal.

In short, this is a frantic yet fun album, probably not the musical equivalent of James Joyce, but it's very listenable and won't kill brain cells. At least not any faster than the Pabst will.

In Other News:
Stupid hail.