April 2011 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

MUSIC
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART FINALLY BELONG
BY DAN MITCHELL PHOTO BY PAVLA KOPECNA
About two years ago, a band from Brooklyn
named the Pains of Being Pure at Heart took
the music world by storm. Their rise was not
unprecedented, given the nature of the Internet
and its relationship to music nowadays, but one curious
thing about their ascension did stick out--- the honesty in
their approach to writing songs. Any other band that would
think to name themselves the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
would do so to sound ironic and cheeky. This band’s name
choice, however, is not ironic; in fact, it is the perfect
descriptor for their music. The songs they write are playful,
down to earth, and at times, very serious. This is not to
say the Pains do not joke around (just think about what a
“Gothenburg Handshake” means) but they do write songs
about what they know best, which is a bit of an anomaly
in the music realm in this day and age. This being said,
I thought it best to speak with Peggy Wang, the band’s
keyboardist, backing vocalist and resident New Orleanian,
about the nature of her group, what it was like recording
their fantastic new record and how she feels about all of
the misplaced hatred that finds its way to the band on an
almost daily basis. As expected, her answers were honest
and forthright, much like the band itself.
ANTIGRAVITY: First, I would like to start with your
thoughts on your whirlwind rise to the forefront of
indie rock over the past couple of years ever since you
released your eponymous debut on Slumberland in
2009. I know you couldn’t have possibly foreseen the
reception, by both critics and fans alike, at that time,
but what has it been like going from playing small
venues in Brooklyn to touring the country and playing
in front of fans that know every word to every one of
your songs? It must have been quite an experience and
must continue to be one.
Peggy Wang: It’s definitely been a huge life change, but it’s
been a pretty comfortable one as well. There are some things
you get used to, some things that you don’t. I think the highs
are high and the lows are low. If I weren’t playing in a band,
I’d probably living in NYC, working 10-6, and leading a
pretty normal life. It’s crazy how much playing a great show
can be the hugest adrenaline rush ever. But playing a bad
show makes you feel totally defeated and suicidal. I guess
that’s what I deal with mostly.
When you first emerged with your debut, twee-pop seemed
to be the designation people were comfortable using to
describe your music and it seemed to work because of your
affiliation with the Slumberland label, among other things,
which started in the early ‘90s with bands like the Lilys and
Black Tambourine. With your newest release, Belong, there
is a marked sonic change in your approach this time around
and I was wondering how much of this can be attributed to
your collaboration with the producer Flood?
Well, we wanted to work with Flood because we wanted a
heavier guitar sound and more dynamics. It’s still a noisy record,
and it’s not like he waltzed in and told us how we were supposed
to sound. Flood helped us get the more immediate sound that
we were after. The songs are still pop songs about feelings
though, and they were written long before we had any inkling
how we wanted the album to sound as a whole.
It was your first work with a ‘real’ producer, and you got to
work with someone who has worked with some very serious
artists in the past including Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Nine
Inch Nails, Sigur Ros, the Cure and the Jesus and Mary
Chain, as well as other great producers and engineers such
as Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite. Were you nervous to
work with such an established force in music?
I was nervous because I was scared our tastes might not
converge, and we might get bullied into a record we didn’t feel
comfortable making. I have no idea what a producer does nor
16
had any of us ever worked
with one. But that wasn’t
the case at all. I don’t think
every band needs or should
work with a producer, but
in our case, Flood was
amazing to work with. We
as a band were so inside of
the songs, it helped a lot to
have an objective person on
the outside with really good
instincts to help us work our
way through the record.
The sound on Belong sounds
beefed up, so to speak,
especially the guitar work,
your keyboard presence and
density of the atmospherics
within songs like “Belong,”
“Heaven’s Going to Happen
Now,” “Girl of 1,000
Dreams” and the album
closer “Strange,” yet your
songs sound unmistakably
like your own nonetheless.
“I don’t want to stand on stage and pretend
like I’m really weird or original.”
It sounds like you really hit stride in this collaboration, like you had fun during the recording, trying new ideas and coming
together as a true unit; is this a fair assertion?
Yeah, absolutely! Even if people hate this record, I think that at least we had a lot of fun making it, and
I think there are a lot of positive feelings that went into the record that I can only hope that people can hear.
Like I said, Flood didn’t make us do anything that we hated, but he definitely pushed us. He was also
able to find the signifier in every song and really pull it out of us.
With respect to coming together as a unit, as it sounds you have completely on Belong, do you think the touring that
you have done over the past few years provided you a certain comfort level within the band that in turn contributed to
confidence heard within this new record?
Yeah, I do. We’re still not totally confident people, and I still get nervous before I have to play a show. But we certainly knew
more than we did when we went into make our first record.
Speaking of touring, it must be exciting, for you specifically, to be able to come to your hometown of New Orleans to play
shows as you grew up here, attended Tulane (like me) and DJ’d at WTUL. The last show you played, at One Eyed Jacks,
was a great one with tremendous crowd reception. What does it mean to you to be able to come back home to play a show
here?
I try to visit New Orleans a lot so I just try to do things I would normally do. Go out to eat with my parents, have some crawfish,
drink a daiquiri on the street. The New Orleans show was so fun though, and the kids there were so enthusiastic and so nice. I
was always really frustrated by the lack of good indie shows, and also the lack of attendance, so I guess I wasn’t expecting much.
That was back in the late ‘90s. If the One Eyed Jacks show was any indication, things have certainly changed.
Also, as far as New Orleans goes, are there any particular bars, sections of town, venues or restaurants that hold a special
place in your heart? Are there any places that when you come to town you simply must visit?
Yeah definitely I love Thrift City, any place that has crawfish, Cafe du Monde coffee, Lakeside Mall, the Circle Bar, Kim’s
restaurant on the west bank. And I like to go see a movie at the Palace with my dad.
Lastly, I wanted to talk briefly about my experience writing about the Pains in the past. When I covered your
last EP, Higher Than the Stars, I got an unusual amount of negative feedback on my review of the album. I
gave it a very positive review, but people wrote in saying that your music was nothing new and perhaps didn’t
deserve such praise. A co-writer, who covered your debut when it came out, received the same sort of feedback
and I have noticed that quite a few people out there, especially on the internet, had similar things to say. When
I spoke to my editor about this, he said, “well, they must be doing something right,” which I agree with entirely.
Do you have any thoughts on this? Do you think perhaps the honesty and straightforward nature to your music
scares certain people?
I can certainly see why our band isn’t for everyone. We probably scare most people away with our name, and the brave
people who are left might be put off by how “derivative” our music sounds. It’s pop music, made with guitars and drums
and stuff. We’re not trying to reinvent Western music, and my personal tastes don’t really lean that way anyway. I
don’t want to stand on stage and pretend like I’m really weird or original. I like music that I can relate to, that gives me
a feeling that I might not be able to put my finger on, and that’s what I hope others get out of it. I’m really particular
about my own music tastes, and there’s a sincerity and a context that makes me decide whether I like a band or not. So
I’ll try not to get too defensive about all the negative feedback. Except I will say that everyone that dislikes our music
is obviously completely soulless.
Pains of Being Pure at Heart plays One Eyed Jacks on Thursday, April 7 th with Twin Shadow at 8pm. For more info, go to
thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com.