After the letdown of
Days of Abandon
, where
Kip Berman
stripped the band's sound down to a merely pleasant shadow of its former self, 2017's
The Echo of Pleasure
is an impressive comeback that sees
the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
recapture the sonic thrills and drama that they have when operating at their best.
Berman
mostly handled all the music himself, though vocalist
Jen Goma
plays a large role, and he had some help from bassist
Jacob Danish Sloan
and horn player
Kelly Pratt
. This small crew does a fine job of balancing the fuzzy noisegaze of early
Pains
records with a glossy, very '80s approach that owes a great deal to "Lips Like Sugar"-era
Echo & the Bunnymen
, with a little
Psychedelic Furs
circa
Mirror Moves
added for good measure. The songs are overloaded with sound -- buzzing guitars, crashing cymbals, sugary vocal harmonies, various synths, and thudding drums -- while
's vocals are the most mature they've ever sounded (most likely because this is the first
album that deals with real-life adult concerns like fatherhood and marriage). His voice is the tender heart at the center of the sonic storm, and he holds it together admirably.
Goma
's vocals are a perfect counterpoint that adds some earthy balance to his wispy soul, and she sounds fantastic on "So True," the glittery dance-pop song she sings solo. It's the poppiest moment on the album by far, though other songs come close. The cute and frothy "When I Dance with You" comes off like a bubbly radio hit, "My Only" is a sunny version of
Darklands
-era
Jesus and Mary Chain
with an uplifting chorus, and "The Cure for Death" jangles with all the grandeur of
the Church
. Along with all the pop,
sprinkles in some moments of fragile melancholy and tenderness too, like "Anymore" and "Falling Apart So Slow," two slices of seriously sad nostalgia with heartbreaking guitar lines. It's a fine mix of smiles and tears throughout the album, and the heady mix of shoegaze and new wave hits a sweet spot that lots of other bands have aimed for and missed.
and
the Pains
may have stumbled on their previous record, but on
they shine like stars and explode like a rainbow of brilliant colors. It may not pack the same sonic punch as their early singles, but it has an overall more interesting sound, and the hard-won wisdom and feeling
injects into the songs now means that
have transcended their struggles to find a sound, and have truly arrived at last. ~ Tim Sendra