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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Bringing Infectious Pop to Jakarta's Indie Scene

Belong, the second album from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, released in 2011. The band have scheduled a show in Jakarta on March 2. (Photo courtesy of thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com)

America's indie darling, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, have scheduled a Jakarta show at Balai Sarbini on March 2.

The quartet, composed of vocalist Kip Berman, bassist Alex Naidus, drummer Kurt Feldman, and keyboardist and back vocals Peggy Wang, tweeted on Jan. 11, “Tour dates just added in Korea, China, Philippines, Thailand + Indonesia”. Promoters Revision Live and Chambers confirmed the news shortly after the band posted their tour dates on their Web site.

The Pains became an indie sensation upon releasing their first self-titled full-length in 2009. Their short, fast, and noisy yet melodic twee-pop distinguished the band from other bands that come out of the New York City lo-fi scenes. A number of songs, particularly notable singles like “Young Adult Friction,” “Everything With You,” and “Come Saturday,” have anthemic choruses that will make fans sing along at their debut concert in Jakarta.  

The band followed up its confident debut with an even more striking, bigger sound in its sophomore album, Belong, in 2011. The Pains teamed up with Flood and Alan Moulder, two collaborating producers who have worked with prominent ‘90s acts, such as Smashing Pumpkins (one of the Pains' biggest musical influences), Nine Inch Nails, PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode, U2, and many more.  

Independent music webzine Pitchfork named the ‘90s heavily-influenced Belong as Best New Music in April 2011. While the self-titled debut has that lo-fi sound, Belong is bolder and more balanced in terms of faster tracks, particularly the titled track itself, “Heaven's Gonna Happen Now,” and the first single “Heart in Your Heartbreak,” and slower ballads, such as the second single "The Body" and "Even in Dreams".

The Pains is the third band that Indonesian promoters managed to pull off from the 2012 Australia and Singapore's Laneway Festival headliners. The other two were the Horrors and Grammy-nominated female soloist Feist.  

Retro-inspired Indonesian pop band White Shoes and The Couples Company and Polyester Embassy have been selected to open the show in March. The Pains and White Shoes are known to have good touring relationships since the two bands shared the stage during their performances at a Hong Kong music festival late last year.  

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
March 2 Balai Sarbini, Jakarta
Pre-sale tickets Rp 285,000 (Feb. 2 – Feb. 26)
Normal price Rp 350,000 

Tickets available at: revision.co.id/ticketbox

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