Within sniffing distance of the discarded chip wrappers ditched by armies of hen parties that patrolled Brighton seafront, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart look like fledglings fallen far from the safety of the North Laine nest.
Their polite blend of C86 melodies and early Smashing Pumpkins guitar chords was at odds with the gaggle of lairy stag party t-shirts that walked the promenade mere yards from where they played.
But by the time Pains mainman Kip Berman ripped into a scintillating version of Come Saturday midway through, there was enough infectious pop-inspired goodwill in the room to see even the most devout indie kid exchange their canvas bag with a bride-to-be’s pink sash and L plates in an unlikely sign of unity.
It didn’t always look likely though, with a lone version of Art Smock kicking things off in less brash style, in keeping with the band’s new record.
From that point on though, even their most recent tunes were beefed up, with the fuzz pedals rarely switched off. Berman’s vocals were sometimes muddied and the clarity lost among the distorted swathes of guitar, but the melodic gold of tunes like Heart In Your Heartbreak, Simple And Sure and Until The Sun Explodes was unmistakable.
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