18 October 2009
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Higher Than The Stars EP
It seems like only yesterday that The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart burst onto the scene with their much lauded eponymous debut album earlier this year. Since then, Pains have been winning legions of new fans on tour with their razor sharp live show, playing to ever bigger and more enthusiastic crowds. So having seemingly appeared from nowhere only seven months ago, TPOBPAH have been subject to considerable hype and expectation with their new release Higher Than The Stars EP.
Initially, this EP seems to signal something of a departure for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, opening with a wash of synth, guitars all but entirely absent from the mix. And indeed, Higher Than The Stars (track) is the most dream-pop, least shoegaze thing Pains have produced so far. But despite the slight shift of focus, this is undoubtedly the same band as on their debut soft girl/boy vocals deliver gorgeous hook after gorgeous hook with an irresistible nonchalance and, to these ears, the title track just about surpasses everything on that sublime album.
With a run time of just under 20 minutes (seven of which are taken up by an uninspiring remix of the title track), Higher Than The Stars EP is a decidedly slight collection none of the remaining three tracks reach the dizzying heights of the opener. On 103 and Twins, TPOBPAH are content to retreat back to the safety of their tried-and-tested shoegaze sound and, whilst there is nothing wrong with their hazy, guitar saturated production, these tracks seem to lack any real inspiration and comfortably fall into the category of filler. Falling Over is the only remaining track to standout, with jangling Smiths guitars and a catchy chorus, but its really not enough to save the EP from mediocrity.
Being little more than a stopgap between LPs, we should not write off TPOBPAH on the basis of Higher Than The Stars EP alone. But, with the exception of the title track, this promising young band seems to be playing it safe here something they cannot afford to do in the future.
Listen now on Spotify
Tom
Initially, this EP seems to signal something of a departure for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, opening with a wash of synth, guitars all but entirely absent from the mix. And indeed, Higher Than The Stars (track) is the most dream-pop, least shoegaze thing Pains have produced so far. But despite the slight shift of focus, this is undoubtedly the same band as on their debut soft girl/boy vocals deliver gorgeous hook after gorgeous hook with an irresistible nonchalance and, to these ears, the title track just about surpasses everything on that sublime album.
With a run time of just under 20 minutes (seven of which are taken up by an uninspiring remix of the title track), Higher Than The Stars EP is a decidedly slight collection none of the remaining three tracks reach the dizzying heights of the opener. On 103 and Twins, TPOBPAH are content to retreat back to the safety of their tried-and-tested shoegaze sound and, whilst there is nothing wrong with their hazy, guitar saturated production, these tracks seem to lack any real inspiration and comfortably fall into the category of filler. Falling Over is the only remaining track to standout, with jangling Smiths guitars and a catchy chorus, but its really not enough to save the EP from mediocrity.
Being little more than a stopgap between LPs, we should not write off TPOBPAH on the basis of Higher Than The Stars EP alone. But, with the exception of the title track, this promising young band seems to be playing it safe here something they cannot afford to do in the future.
Listen now on Spotify
Tom
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