The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
 

I started listening to them nearly 2 years ago when I downloaded their self-titled debut out of curiosity. I fell in love with them immediately and became immersed in their collision of sweet pop hooks and guitar noise. I had their debut and their Higher Than The Stars EP on heavy rotation for ages.

The band have outdone themselves yet again with their new album Belong, which features a cleaner and more polished production and a big step-up in songwriting and musicianship. Belong is quickly becoming one of my favourite releases of 2011 so far.

I got into them with their debut as well. It ended up on some best of the year lists and I heard the word shoegaze tossed around, so I was immediately interested. At first listen, they were nothing special but they had this innocent charm about their music that really intrigued me. It is seriously that charm that kept me coming back, because let's face it - their music is nothing revelatory. It is just so. damn. addictive...

And yes, their latest album Belong is a huge step up. I want to hear something drastically different on the next album, but they absolutely perfected their current sound with this one.

For those interested, the drummer and guitarist were both in the Depreciation Guild before they broke up.

Yeah that pretty much sums them up for me. They're obviously not the most inventive band around at the moment but they just do what they do so well. In some cases having great songs just beats musicianship and originality. They're one of those bands that if you like them you end up becoming hooked on them, and that addictiveness just doesn't wear off.

I only found out that The Depreciation Guild broke up a month ago. I would have loved another album from them.

I'm working on getting into them as of late. As soon as I get over Tomboy I plan to give them a proper listen.

I think they're pretty lame, although I would be willing to try a whole album. Should I get there newest one?

I really like there debut. There new release is just okay, kind of lacking that awesome wall of sound they had.

I think they've evolved for the better. They can't hide behind a wall of sound forever and not let the melodies and great songs shine through like on Belong. I really love their debut album but If you really take in their new album and then go back and listen to their debut it seems to sound less confident, less developed and slightly 2-dimensional compared to Belong.

Has anyone seen them live? I think they're going to play at one of the festivals I'm heading to this summer, I'm really hyped about that.

Finally got a chance to give them a few proper listens and I quite like the new album. Been playing it quite a bit. Very catchy pop-rock, and I don't think there's a single track I'd like to skip.