The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are streaming their upcoming album for free on their site. Belong, the band’s sophomore effort, officially comes out on the 29th of this month, but for some reason, they’re letting us hear it a little early. I’m certainly not complaining.
Well, The Pains are back, and doing what they do best. On Belong, they stay true to the sound that made their self-titled debut so great. Themes of love, lust, and heartbreak abound throughout the album, as The Pains stick with what they know best. Distorted guitars? Check. Dreamy vocals? For sure. Abundance of synthesizers? Oh yeah, that’s there.
The band does make a few attempts at slower songs on this album, specifically on Anne With an E and Even in Dreams. They work. Well. You can still tell that it’s the same band that has made great up-tempo tracks like Contender and This Love is Fucking Right!, as the dreamy guitars and melodramatic lyrics are still there in full force. The speed of the songs is just turned down a little, leading to a ballad…or as close to a ballad as a fringe-shoegaze band can get.
Ultimately, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have put together another solid album. At the moment, I like it better than their debut, but that could be because I’m excited to hear some new material from them. Regardless, even after the excitement wears off, I’m sure that I will still hold this album in high regard. It seems that with Belong, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have cemented themselves as a force to be reckoned with in today’s music scene.
Stream Belong in its entirety, legally, here.
Swole Ear 
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