Cargo Records

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART + A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS

The Pains proudly bring you their self-titled debut album and the most infectious slice of pop perfection you will hear all year, a distillation of all the great noise-pop precedents - early MBV, House of Love, JAMC - but with the incredible exuberance and energy that the Pains bring to every song, the excitement of youth just rushing forth and sweeping the listener along. Over ten tracks The Pains demonstrate an absolute mastery of noise/jangle pop, their songs being a perfect distillation of classic pop melody and thrilling, rushing guitar noise that have taste-making blogs across the planet tripping over themselves in search of superlatives. Like their American peers Black Kids and Vampire Weekend, The Pains have a happy knack of taking the classic sounds of the past and at once making them invigorating and fresh, a knack sure to propel them to an audience beyond the blogs and away from the scenester crowd that made their UK tour dates crushed, sweaty and sold-out through word-of-mouth alone.

While plenty of comparisons to an array of esteemed bands have been drawn up to A Place to Bury Strangers, there is no doubt that the reverberating sound of feedback, plus the deliberately primal ring of King Kong warring with Godzilla is unmistakably their own. Unlike much so-called "loud" rock and roll that's out there, APTBS is not loud simply for the sake of it. The sonically overdriven sound they've accomplished is no clumsy accident, but a carefully cultivated and well-maintained entity all its own, fostered by an unbridled passion that's clearly evident in every live show they play and each recording they make. A Place To Bury Strangers does not so much play songs as allow them to pour out.