The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
- Written by Dave Beech
Sandwiched innocuously on a row of commercial properties facing the Arndale Centre, Manchester's Ruby Lounge is, on the outside, as unassuming as tonight's clientèle - an eclectic bunch that seem to have only two things in common, a penchant for indie-pop and a love short trousers. Abundance of ankles aside however, the mood in the venue is one of subdued merriment and as support band Fear Of Men take to the stage, drinks are finished and the half capacity crowd move forward.
Having just released their debut LP back in April, Brighton's Fear Of Men seem as if they could benefit from a little more confidence in a live environment. That's not to say that their sound isn't fully developed yet, (traditional indie-pop flecked with elements of light dream-pop and shoegaze) but between songs singer Jess speaks so fast it's difficult to pick up on what she's saying, before they launch in to another track full of blissed out fuzz. Their set is well received despite a half-full room, and it's easy to see why they were picked as tonight's support, let's just hope that they find the confidence they need in order to become a truly impressive live force.
With a set comprised of mainly material from new album Days of Abandon, New York's The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have segued somewhat from the twee-pop of their debut and its follow up in to something that feels a little more fleshed out, matured even and very much influenced by the '80s. Opening with The Cure-esque 'Until The Sun Explodes', the band don't seem to linger on any one album for too long, interspersing new tracks such as 'Kelly' with singles such as 2011s 'The Body'.
Later inclusions of tracks from their debut go down excellently, the anarchic and nostalgic 'Young Adult Friction' channelling the likes of Heavenly or Talulah Gosh whilst 'This Love Is Fucking Right' feels suitably fuzzy, providing an aural haze that matches the temperature in the venue. Before new track 'Eurydice' precedes the eponymous 'The Pains of Being Pure At Heart' to close the main set.
Taking to the stage alone to start the encore, vocalist and guitarist Kip Berman serenades the crowd with a rousing solo rendition of early B-side 'Ramona' before being joined by the rest of his touring band for final two tracks 'Everything With You' and 'Belong'.
They might have left behind the inherent roughness of their earlier days, but there's no denying that The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart still posses much of the same charm that endeared us to their debut five years ago, they've just grown up, and unfortunately, so have we. That isn't strictly a bad thing though, and if they carry on in the direction that they're heading, The Pains Of Being... could quite easily go on to become a household name.