Bands med beklagelige navner

Yesterday I was going to write a blog, but instead I read a whole book -- cover to cover -- which I haven’t done in a long time. I enjoyed it. Here is the entry I was going to write:

I’ll start with the old. There’s this band from New York, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, who I’ve been listening to on and off for nearly a year. My hopes for having found the ultimate twee band were crushed when I learned, a while ago, that they are not (as their last.fm bio suggests) brothers and sister, but they are nevertheless a very good shoegaze-y twee band. I’ve seen them compared to My Bloody Valentine and Asobi Seksu -- neither of whom can really be called twee -- but all the descriptions seem apt. Another band I myself compare them to is Dirty On Purpose, especially the way they sounded on their second EP, Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow, featuring vocals from Au Revoir Simone’s Erika Forster. If you like that, you will like this.

Anyway. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the band (what a name, I mean). They have a saddeningly scant discography, and their debut LP, which includes several (okay, four) previously released songs, isn’t set for release until next February. Perhaps it’s because they have such a small catalog that the songs are so good. Many -- including a few of the as-yet-unreleased ones -- can be streamed at last.fm. They all share an immediately recognizable sound -- jangly and shoegaze-y at once; many also feature boy-girl vocals, and there’s just the right amount of mope and mock accents and minor chords.

All the songs have these traits, but I’m talking about one in particular here: Stay Alive. It won’t officially be released until February, with the album, but right now it’s up for grabs on the band’s website (and here). From the opening bars, I knew it would be my favorite Pains of Being Pure at Heart song, and I was right. I still don’t understand a lot of what they’re saying (as happens fairly often with me) so while it’s possible I’m subconsciously imagining lyrics, it’s far more likely that the song, its sound, reminds me of something I’ve long since forgotten. I really don’t know how to describe it any better, except to say that for every person, there are perfect songs. They come along every so often, and what sounds perfect to the one person may be only good, or even mediocre, for another, but for that one… This is one of my perfect songs.

And now the new. Followers of this blog probably already know I’m a pretty big fan of Oliver North Boy Choir, even though I cringe every time I say their name. They’ve just finished their next single (they only do singles), Over/Out. It’ll be released 23. November, but the third and fourth tracks are available for download now. They’re both nice and soft and ONBC-sounding, though the third, Farvel (it means goodbye, farewell, etc.) is their first non-English song, done in both Danish and Swedish. It’s also a collaboration with Marcus of Bakers at Dawn, who I also really like.

Farvel is nice, but I like the bonus track, Tonight, even better -- especially the last two and a half minutes. I think it’s largely the lyrics I’m drawn to, so maybe if I went to the trouble of translating Farvel, I would be more fond of it. One of the lines -- tonight I’ll be on your wall -- really sticks with me, and I don’t know why. This is another of those unhappy love songs the band bio talks about, and they do them so well.

For more such songs, pretty much the entire ONBC catalog can be streamed right now on last.fm. (I’d start with Lovesong, the Weekender B-side.) And, again, the front half of Over/Out will be released Sunday. Looking forward to hearing the rest of it.

--DL--
Stay Alive (the Pains of Being Pure at Heart)
Farvel (Oliver North Boy Choir)
Tonight (Oliver North Boy Choir)