SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – PERFECT RIGHT NOW: A SLUMBERLAND COLLECTION 2008-2010

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART 
PERFECT RIGHT NOW: A SLUMBERLAND COLLECTION 2008-2010
SLUMBERLAND RECORDS

Some 15 to 16 years ago (2009 to be precise), we got to hear a band with a very long name making some very substantial music. They went by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and with that name they nailed down the sound they were coming up with. It was a detailed amalgam of sounds that were reserved for serious fandom but deserved a much wider acceptance they never got – a combination of British-tinged pop from late 80s and early 90s, from NME’s C86 cassette sound to Sarah Records and Belle and Sebastian sense, giving it an across the Atlantic touch along the way.

While The Pains of Being Pure at Heart created a serious critical buzz, they may have made a step further as far as audience acceptance was concerned, but still not enough of it that the band deserved, so they went dormant until current times.

Preparing for new steps and musical adventures, Kip Berman and his cohorts came up with Perfect Right Now: A Slumberland Collection 2008-2010, a collection of mostly out of print stuff, B-sides, EP tracks, and other scarce songs, as a refresher and a look forward.

And guess what—all of the tracks sound as fresh, vibrant, and important as they did then. It is great to have this band back!

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