The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | Higher Than the Stars EP
By "Coconut" Roman Coke • Oct 16th, 2009 • Category: On the Record
Most Likely To: make you see your cardiologist, but he will tell you it’s nothing.
Indie bands, much like tarty girlfriends or Sunday drivers, move at their own pace. They don’t adhere to established practices. TPoBPaH, hailing from New York, are no different. They released a full length back in February, and are eyeing another full length for January of 2010. The EP Higher Than the Stars shoots to bridge that gap. As with true talent, for years EPs were generally a forgotten notion in the major label landscape. Now, more and more indie bands are releasing EPs, which is great when you have ADD. (Now what was I talking about again?)
Kip Berman’s voice is mixed with enough ’90s era murk to put you in the frame of mind of some of their inspirations: bands like Nirvana and especially My Bloody Valentine. The music is a glossy mix of lush shoegaze, jangly guitar rock ,and catchy melodies punctuated by Kurt Feldman’s active percussion. Lyrically, songs are short and somewhat vague enough that you could apply most to your empty life, with “103” being the exception. A favorite live song, “103” deals with a semi-suicidal soul who thankfully never gets the job done. “I know you don’t believe me,” Berman sings, “but you’re gonna see one hundred and three.”
The EP opens with the ebullient “Higher Than the Stars,” featuring Alex Naidus’ solid bass lines. “Twins” is cautionary tale of a BFF gone awry. On it, Berman laments, “Everything good is gone.” Guitars are the prevalent force and the production of this song is rather tinny. Keyboardist Peggy Wang East adds a haunting counter-vocal to the chorus of the punk-edged “Falling Over.” Her keys dance through the beginning and ending of the song like Christina Applegate dances through my dreams.
A pornily titled “St. Etienne Visits Lord Spank remix” of “Higher” closes things out. The mix is chock full of keyboard washes, percussion tracks, pumped up Peggy vocals, and Middle Eastern elements, giving it a nice flair. It’s not a necessary cut to own, but it answers the burning question of what would a TPoBPaH track sound like if it was remixed by St. Etienne, so we can all rest easy now.
Higher is a solid listen, and doesn’t grow weary after repeated spins. Fans of ’90s alternative as well as solid, catchy melodies would do good to put up with some of this Pain.
"Coconut" Roman Coke is on a slow path to world domination which has led him to many callings: professional lacrosse player, helicopter pilot, foot model, and double agent.
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