Video of The Day: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

There’s a bunch of videos out there. Some of them are good. Some of them are a cut above. I like to think my picks for Video of The Day are a cut (or two) above.

Hearing The Pains of Being Pure at Heart for the first time was the best kind of sugar rush. Their starry-eyed, impeccably raw fuzz was laced with twee and shades of Scotland and New Zealand, a swirl of bittersweetness that still sounds like sheer magic 11 years after their debut self-titled record was released. My first taste of the Pains sound was their poignant, irresistible ditty "Young Adult Friction," a divine little song filled with bookish charm tempered with scenes of a sexual nature and (possibly) fondly-remembered, slightly awkward stolen moments in libraries. Kip Berman's cherubic vocals float through luxuriant waves of scuzzed, plush jangle, a blissful combination that saturates the entirety of this particular record.

The video's grainy, home movie feel picks up the songs youthful abandon and runs with it. The band's lighthearted shenanigans with skulls and various young adult titles feature prominently, making it a perfect accompaniment for the stellar single.

Pains fans new and old can relive the glory of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart this very afternoon (4 PM Eastern) through the rescheduled band's Tim's Twitter Listening Party.

[posted 8.24.20]