Live from MFNW, Day 2: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Since their inception in 2007, New York indie-pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have been bringing back everything beautiful from the 80s with their My Bloody Valentine-esque balance of melancholy fuzz and nostalgia accompanied with absolutely gorgeous lyrics. With their 2011 release Belong, the band let British producers Alan Moulder and Flood, whose work includes Depeche Mode and My Bloody Valentine, take the production seat to give their already fantastic sound an arena-rocking boost into glory. Joining us live from the Doug Fir Lounge at MFNW, we get to see the full effect of that perfection in person.

Led by former Portland resident frontman Kip Berman, the band took the stage and launched into “Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now” off their 2011 release Belong before playing a new track titled “Until the Sun Explodes.” Highly reminiscent of the classic 80s sounds of The Cure and The Smiths, Berman’s voice fits the part perfectly knowing exactly when to croon, when to howl, and when to step back and freak out on the guitar.

Bouncing from melancholy pop song to less-melancholy pop song, the group packed in an impressive amount of warmth and into every single track. If you happen to be in Portland tonight b sure to catch The Pains of Being Pure at Heart live at the Star Theater.