The Thousands

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart make indie pop. In dee pop. They make it with considerable aplomb too. Aplomb and My Bloody Valentine-esque walls of guitar. At their Laneway sideshow on Thursday they’ll also make it with support from Geoffrey O’Connor and Pop Singles. All of this explains why we’re excited to be co-presenting their tour with Mistletone.

But a Pains tour would not be complete without us strong-arming the band into writing something for our website. “Write something!” we shout. “ANYTHING! The internet does not stop.” Last time we made Peggy give us a recipe for Japanese turnips. This time Kip Berman made a mixtape. But that is not all. He wrote thoughtful, educational, sometimes fanciful, violent and slightly depraved liner notes. Take it away, Kip:

The House of Love, ‘Destroy The Heart’
Kip Berman: I love Guy Chadwick’s voice, but I think I love his name even more. If I was named Kip Chadwick, just think of the life I’d have! Limousines, champagne, depravity of every sort. My orientation would be disorientation, I’d flirt with fascism only to break its heart and I’d have cheekbones so pronounced that those greeting me with two kisses would invariably lacerate their lips. Good song, this. It’s about hearts – always a popular subject in my book.

Bad Dream Fancy Dress, ‘Choirboy Gas’
KB: Produced by The King of Luxembourg and released on the legendary and ridiculously fancy El Records, this single from their album of the same name is every bit as pop psychedelic and majestic as anything the Kinks did in their Arthur era. But the appropriation of such outre sounds by two women in the mid 1980s with a rambunctious and totally irresistible flair all their own makes this a record that sounds like no other I can think of. Original and awesome in every way, it’s a classic to me.

Mr. Wright. ‘Hangover Square’
KB: Another from the El Records roster, Kevin Right did a record as “Always” for said label before assuming the “Mr. Wright” moniker. This song, taken from his first album for Le Grand Magistery is about as beautiful and emotionally evocative as a song can get. “We can leave this world behind, and build a shrine to love and beauty.” If that isn’t what we all want, I don’t know what is.

Manhattan Love Suicides, ‘Skulls’
KB: This band really inspired us at the start, and we soon became great friends despite their living far away in Leeds, UK. They brought a sense of sex, violence (and perhaps violent sex) back to indiepop at a time when most bands in the genre were content to write songs about hand holding and bicycle rides (or handholding bicycle rides).

Brighter, ‘Killjoy’
KB: Sarah Records was a far more sonically diverse label than its’ cartoonish tweepop characterization often reflects. That being said, if there was a single band that was perfectly Sarah, it would be Brighter. This song is equal parts epic and gentle, which I think is a good combo. If you’re epic and hard, you just come off the wrong way.

Felt, ‘Ballad of the Band’
KB: There are so many great Felt songs out there, that the remarkable catalog fully justifies bandleader Lawrence’s otherwise preposterous view of himself as a genius, the rightful heir to Lou Reed, Tom Verlaine and Dylan. “Ballad of the Band” is a strange example of his work, which is usually emotionally austere and cryptic. Yet this song’s belief that there’s a place for all sorts of music and art (except Felt’s) seems exceptionally lucid and self aware of the band’s perpetual commercial irrelevance, despite Lawrence’s overt desire to be all caps FAMOUS. This commercial failure also allowed the mystique and cult status of the band to grow to what it is now. Felt, having disbanded over 20 years ago, is more famous than ever. This Ballad of the Band does have a happy ending after all.

Twin Shadow, ‘When We’re Dancing’
KB: We were lucky enough to tour with Twin Shadow last spring, and aside from their record being one i admire and love, George Lewis Jr. and his bandmates were just amazing people all around. I seriously have never been around someone who’s stardom seemed such a necessary thing for the world to experience. George’s poster should be on bedroom walls, his style plagiarized by uncertain adolescents and his songs the soundtrack to mix tapes far better than this one. A class act, a brilliant and evocative songwriter and a must see at Laneway Festival.

Girls, ‘Laura’
KB: Another band we were lucky enough to tour with back in 2009, Girls are likewise incredibly sincere and lovingly dedicated to their music. I am often uncomfortable relating to people, though I am good at relating to music. This isn’t usually a problem, but sometimes interacting with people that make music you admire is really hard. You can’t start every conversation with “I love your album, you wrote some of my favorite songs – oh, can you pass the hummus?” If I wasn’t in a band, I’d just be a weird creepy fan.

The Pastels, ‘Coming Through’
KB: Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually masturbate while watching old Pastels videos on youtube. But there’s something emotionally equivalent going on. I just watch them and am desperately in love and desirous of all they stand for, the casualness of their genius and the willingness to stand apart and exist as their own little world. They relied on great songwriting and a perfect blend of the depravity and squall of the Velvet Underground with the innocent charm of Jonathan Richman. I’m not sure if any Scottish band accomplished this as well, aside from the equally amazing Orange Juice and Teenage Fanclub.

Comet Gain, ‘You Can Hide Your Love Forever’
KB: Comet Gain are remarkable. They’re famous for fundamentally not giving a shit about playing live, though the only time I saw them perform, they were spot on. All their records are fantastic, and I count “Realistes” as one of my all time favorites. They’re one of the few indiepop bands that write about something other than unrequited love, lifetimes of perfect faithfulness and bicycles. Of course, this song is sort of about an unrequited love, but there’s nary a mention of bicycle riding. Oh, and I have nothing against bikes – they’re an amazing source of transport and essential to preserving the environment. I just don’t like that many songs about them.

TRACKLIST
The House of Love, ‘Destroy The Heart’
Bad Dream Fancy Dress, ‘Choirboy Gas’
Mr. Wright, ‘Hangover Square’
Manhattan Love Suicides, ‘Skulls’
Brighter, ‘Killjoy’
Felt, ‘Ballad of the Band’
Twin Shadow, ‘When We’re Dancing’
Girls, ‘Laura’
The Pastels, ‘Coming Through’
Comet Gain, ‘You Can Hide Your Love Forever’