Posted under mtv
By Jett Wells
On Friday (July 10), the Pains of Being Pure at Heart brought their ’80s-infused dream-pop sound to New York City’s South Street Seaport for a free show as a part of the River to River Music Festival. Onlookers chomping on Uno pizza and checking out the view of the East River got a special treat, because the Pains of Being Pure at Heart are not just cool and captivating but polished as well. Not bad for a band who just released their self-titled full-length debut.
Each song had a crisp, clean intensity that showed off the group’s eclectic mix of stadium-sized melody and intimate grace. With his boyish looks and gentle voice, singer Kip Berman kept the crowd enraptured for the length of the band’s set. They never went nuts, but there were plenty of nodding heads and audible swoons. The biggest reaction came after the band played their buzzworthy singles, “Young Adult Fiction” and “Everything With You.”
The one weird moment during the set was when Berman kept mentioning the glory of America and celebrating the 4th of July, despite the fact that he was a week late. After the third mentioning of the holiday in between songs, a fan yelled out, “That was a week ago! Enough already!” Berman may be over-committed to patriotism, but that won’t stop his band from gaining ground on the indie scene.