Pure at heart...

One quick search at Hypem reveals that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has already been featured by just about every other indie pop loving blogger. So feel free to move on, as the next few lines will contain absolutely nothing that hasn’t been said or written numerous times before. But since this is my blog, where else would be a more appropriate place to share my 5 cents on the smashing debut album by the NY quartet, than this? I have vowed to never use that “album of the year” description again, but the rest of the year’s releases will have a rough time trying to make a bigger impression on me than this one. Not often does it happen that I listen to a debut, where I have nothing negative to say. Where there isn’t something that I would have changed, had I been in charge. Or at least one track I would have canned. But there’s nothing here. Nothing really! There’s simply not a bad track or even a weak moment on the album. Of course you could always have wished for a more diverse album, as each track more or less follows the same formula of mixing a perfect pop song with noisy guitars and pulsing drums. And if you’re a pedant you could of course argue that there are enough bands out there claiming to be inspired by MBV and JAMC. However I see no point in fixing something that’s not broken (and, luckily, neither does the band) or reinventing something that’s not in need of being reinvented. Listening to the album without question proves that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has a charming (and winning) formula on their hands, and if the band decides to stick to that one, then it’s just fine by me.
+ Come Saturday
+ Everything with You

Northern Portrait keeps adding new dates to their gig list. But we are still waiting for the band to announce their first Danish concert. Not that I’m impatient or anything. I just want news on this NOW!
+ I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me

As mentioned a few weeks ago, Swedish duo Ostrich has indeed been signed to a label. The band posted the great news yesterday and the debut EP Press Hold will be out in September on the Cynical Minds label.
+ Icecold Kisses

Folk-Rock band The Village Idiot is probably the best my hometown has to offer, when it comes to music. Tomorrow night Kenni (The Village Idiot himself) and his band will be playing at our local venue Toldkammeret, to celebrate the release of the new album Prima Materia, but unfortunately I won’t be able to go, as I’ll once again have to look after kids. Ridiculously I have yet to see the band in concert and that’s definitely something that needs to change very soon. A zip-file containing 13 selected tracks from various releases is currently free to download from the band’s homepage, which will offer you an excellent introduction to the band and its music.
+ Alcoholic deathride (Ponamero Sundown cover)
+ Secrecy