The Thousands

Let’s just set the record straight. No matter what might have been said about the Pains sounding like the Vivian Girls… it was all lies. They don’t. At all. Teaches all of you bloggers out there to not smoke that Mexican brick weed and then listen to records. You never know what’s in that shit. But we do know that our previous review was correct: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart still kick ass.

The Pains make pop music, jangly pop music that fits in with all that great stuff from when it was big (MBV, K Recs, C86 eras). Their new EP jumps around a bit though, showcasing a pure perfect pop tune sans fuzzed-up guitars, a mid-eighties-ish jam that would make Morrissey cry, and even a Saint Etienne chillout remix! Yeah, that last one is kind of gross. But even with that blemish, the record is strong enough to even make Chris Barton take a day off for cardigan wearing, tea drinking and mixtape making. What a cutie.