The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are a New York four-piece who play genius noisy pop songs with boy/girl vocals, blissful melodies, fuzz guitar and blistering drums. Despite only having been together for a couple of years, The New York city quartet are one of the buzz American bands of the moment. Don’t miss them on their only Scottish festival date of the summer!
mFEST Caught up with lead singer Kip Berman to find out just how much Scottish music means to him.
mFEST: Trust you're looking forward to mFEST, You were selected by the festival young programming team at mFEST - Do you think you've got a big following with people under 18 years old?
Kip: We're pretty grateful they invited us to play and excited-- but perhaps they saw our name and thought we were a screamo band? We're more emotional softcore.
mFEST: Are you performing any new material at mFEST and can we expect any surprises from your set list?
Kip: We'll hopefully be playing a couple new songs. There are two we've been playing of late-- one's tentatively titled, "Heaven's Gonna Happen Now" and the other is called, "The Heart in Your Heartbreak."
mFEST: Your Debut album was a word of mouth sensation on the Indie Club scene in the UK. What can we expect from your next record?
Kip: We haven't started recording yet, so it's too early to say. But I like how Titus Andronicus found the thing that made them Titus Andronicus and just totally went all-in on their second record. They didn't play it safe or care if they failed. I thought I knew and loved Titus Andronicus before, but they really became Titus Andronicus on "The Monitor." Our sound is different (we're not going to make a concept album about the American Civil War with several 8 minute songs), but I like that idea of being unafraid, going deeper into what makes you the band you are and stripping away the things that aren't a part of that.
mFEST: You have the keys to a time machine. You can go back in time and perform on stage at venue with an artist of your choice. Who, where would it be and why?
Kip: T. Rex! I think Marc Bolan would be a cool guy to hang out with. I like how he sings and just everything about him.
mFEST: Will you be taking time out of your busy schedule to meet up with old friends from Scotland while you're in town? Maybe a trip to Monorail?!
Kip: Definitely, Monorail Records is the best. I hope Stephen isn't creeped out by us-- we just like his music and what he stands for. He takes his time, only puts out stuff that he believes in and has been making records for 25 years and never done anything less than wonderful.
Also, the food in the cafe is epic and it's always the happiest time of tour just to go buy some records, pay our respects and have a relaxing vegan meal. It's not a secret that the musical tradition of Glasgow (Orange Juice, The Wake, Teenage Fanclub, The Pastels, The Vaselines, Close Lobsters, Strawberry Switchblade, Belle and Sebastian, Aztec Camera) is very important to us. I know people fetishize Brooklyn and New York, but I never cease to be surprised that half the records I like are from Glasgow.
mFEST: You regularly cite Scottish bands as a particular influence on your sound. However I hear a lot of Creation Records/Sarah Records in your sound. What is it you think makes Scotland's musical heritage so special?
Kip: I think there's a few definite traditions, and they're all cool in their own right. You have the Orange Juice/Josef K tradition, which celebrates a different idea of masculinity, it's clever and romantic and unabashedly pop. And then you have the Jesus and Mary Chain side of things (though technically they're from East Kilbride, i think?) which is this dark, noisy and combative super cool aesthetic. The Pastels brilliance is combining the noise and primal art/rock of The Velvet Undergound with the charming, playful and seductive qualities of Jonathan Richman.
It was once explained to me that the American West Coast was hugely influential in Scotland in the late 70s and 1980s, sort of as a way to reject English cultural influence and possibly simply due to the exotic-ness of California in a northern industrial city. Bands like Teenage Fanclub sound like The Byrds with a bunch of fuzz pedals. There's something really American in that sound, but for whatever reason it sounds better coming from Glasgow. It's not imitation, but re-imagining-- it never feels fake. So yeah, I don't know-- there's just so much musically to draw inspiration from--and that's not even getting into the "idealized pop" side of things like The Associates or Aztec Camera. Even contemporary stuff is quality-- Franz Ferdinand was huge on the radio in America without ever sounding like the kind of band that could be. So yeah, in conclusion, bands from Glasgow are the coolest and I have no idea why.
mFEST: Thank you and see you at mFEST guys!!
Kip: Thank you! We're excited to get to come to Stirling and play the festival!
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart play The Tolbooth on Saturday 31 July at 8pm with support from Astral Planes and Three Blind Wolves
Tickets: £15 /£12.50 conc. / £10 U18s
For tickets call our box office on 01786 466666 or online at www.m-fest.org
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