Belong
by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 29
  3. Negative: 1 out of 29
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  1. AllMusic
    Mar 28, 2011
    80
    Really, they show a lot on Belong -- that they can take their sound to the next level, that they haven't lost any of their good-natured band-next-door charm, and most of all, that they can make a great-sounding modern rock album without selling their souls.
  2. Alternative Press
    Mar 29, 2011
    90
    Polished studio effects notwithstanding, Belong's truest charms remain the songs themselves. [Apr 2011, p.115]
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  3. BBC Music
    Mar 25, 2011
    80
    A consistent second album of big choruses from the New Yorkers.
  5. Beats Per Minute
    Apr 12, 2011
    80
    Their last album was a solid shoegazing experience, but here, there's just something special about the progression of their songwriting and pop instrumentation that feels just right and the band seems to be comfortable with their own music, like they finally seem to belong.
  6. Billboard.com
    Apr 15, 2011
    93
    The 10-track set barely has a weak moment and actually ends too soon. It's like '90s alt-rock had a child who suddenly grew up beautiful.
  7. Boston Globe
    Apr 5, 2011
    80
    The transition is subtle - the reconstituted tracks of Belong remain vehicles for near-perfect pop melodies, gentle self-deprecation, and wistful sentiments
  8. Clash Music
    Mar 29, 2011
    70
    Not so much Teenage Fanclub as 'Loveless'-era MBV meets classic Cure at their poppiest.
  9. CMJ
    Mar 28, 2011
    80
    Despite the heartbreak overtones, Belong is not a depressing or down-tempo album. It remains upbeat and concludes in a manner that ties up the loose ends of the story, all while raiding your new-wave album collection for inspiration.
  10. cokemachineglow
    Apr 1, 2011
    74
    After all, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart never promised reinvention, and Belong is another solid soundtrack to summer afternoons lounging on bedspreads, making collages, flashing back to one's own days as a teenage outcast-however far in the past they may be.
  11. Consequence
    Mar 25, 2011
    80
    They definitely sound like more of a band now, merging their despairing lyrics and indie pop demeanor with an alternative grunge that's certainly worthy of praise, perhaps even more now than ever before.
  12. Drowned In Sound
    Apr 5, 2011
    70
    Put simply, The Pains...are a pop band with songs about young love and teenage misadventure.
  13. Dusted Magazine
    Mar 28, 2011
    80
    When it comes down to it, though, I can look at the track list and sing you back the most important lyric in any song. If pop music is meant to create a shared experience, consider this album a success on a whole bunch of levels.
  14. Entertainment Weekly
    Apr 8, 2011
    83
    The Brooklyn noise-pop fetishists are finally crafting songs substantial enough to withstand repeated listens and justify their devotion to guileless twee. [8 Apr 2011, p.59]
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  15. Los Angeles Times
    Mar 29, 2011
    63
    Berman and his bandmates also play more purposefully here than they did on their debut, as though the bigger arrangements finally provided the shy-guy contrast they'd been looking for. Their move toward muscle feels genuine.
  16. Mojo
    May 18, 2011
    80
    This is an album that stands up to the touchstone indie classics it references. [May 2011, p.112]
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  17. No Ripcord
    May 10, 2011
    80
    This only falls flat when you want more - and that aside, Belong really is a good album.
  18. Pitchfork
    Apr 1, 2011
    82
    Belong is a bigger, bolder, and brighter follow-up that adds new dimensions to the Pains' sound while nearly equaling the songwriting of their debut.
  19. PopMatters
    Mar 28, 2011
    80
    It's an irresistible confection, a document of cherry-flavoured kisses, of social inadequacy, of general brow-beaten oddities captured in the most wide-eyed romantic monologue this side of a teenage Tumblog.
  20. Rolling Stone
    Mar 29, 2011
    70
    Its sound is now massive enough to match its big-hearted emotion.
  21. Slant Magazine
    Mar 28, 2011
    80
    Generally speaking, everything about Belong is shiner and more romantic than the last album; if The Pains of Being Pure at Heart depicted an eternal Saturday in the lives of a few sensitive American teenagers, Belong catches those same kids dolled up for a perpetual prom night.
  22. Spin
    Mar 25, 2011
    80
    For Belong, they step up in class with producers Flood and Alan Moulder, who have overseen alt-classics from Depeche Mode's Violator to PJ Harvey's To Bring You My Love.
  23. The A.V. Club
    Mar 29, 2011
    83
    More than anything, Belong shows ambition, with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart clearly aiming for something bigger--a bigger sound, maybe a bigger audience. It nailed the sound part. A larger audience seems inevitable.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Steech
    Jun 10, 2012
    5
    Let me get this straight: I'm really the only person here capable of hearing the defects with Belong? Really? I'm not going to say anythingLet me get this straight: I'm really the only person here capable of hearing the defects with Belong? Really? I'm not going to say anything nasty about The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. They are a good band and are nice people and play a good live show (and one of my friends is an old roommate of singer Kip Berman), etc. TPOBPAH also made me wonder if we weren't entering into a surprise tweepop millennium when their eponymous full length gained its original megahype. Campesinos! aside, The Pains were really our new twee masters in 2008/9. But Belong is in no way the record the eponymous LP was. Especially coming off the extraordinary high water mark of the Higher Than The Stars 12" (specifically the digital only remixes of the songs). What happened? I've suspended judgment for more than a year. The results are that I can now stomach the excessive production values and guitar crunch (feedback, fuzz, reverb = good; Smashing Pumpkins, 1995 crunch = not good). I can handle the essential sameness of the songs (all the B-Sides from the first full length were equally same-y). But while the eponymous LP made me euphoric and wistful for fuzzy Britpop, Belong makes me remember how out of place dream pop was when it would spring up randomly in the 90s. (Belong's title track sounds more than a little like Primitive Radio Gods's "Standing In A Broken Phone Booth..." I know it's incidental. Still... It does.) But, all crankiness and feelings of betrayal aside, Beyond (the album, not the song) grows on you after a year. I'm not mad or hurt anymore. Moreover, I'm confident TPOBPAH can reprise their initial burst of momentum, break this sophomore slump, and release a great third album when the time comes.… Full Review »
  2. Ricko
    Mar 14, 2012
    8
    Second album from the fantastically named indie band. Although its similar in style to their debut, overall it shows progression. TheSecond album from the fantastically named indie band. Although its similar in style to their debut, overall it shows progression. The production is better, the vocals are a bit clearer and the songs are stronger. Their first album reminded me of the Smiths, but this time they remind me a bit of The Cure. There are plenty of upbeat Indie rockers on this and it's a really enjoyable album. Their sound isn't exactly original and I can't say the band excite me that much, but there is something about their music that's really positive and really attracts me to them. Heavens Gonna Happen Now, Heart in Your Heartbreak and My Terrible Friend (the closest thing to a cover of The Cures "In Between Days" you'll ever hear) are all great tracks and are the kind of tracks that you'd find on those Teen Summer Film soundtracks that are usually so much better than the films themselves. Having said all that, they could do with some variation as well.… Full Review »
  3. d_nasty
    May 10, 2011
    8
    One of the most solid albums of the year. I'm so glad the band is becoming their own band. There's still a little Smashing Pumpkins meets MyOne of the most solid albums of the year. I'm so glad the band is becoming their own band. There's still a little Smashing Pumpkins meets My Bloody Valentine and Yo La Tengo in there but I feel like they're in a transition phase and building towards something possibly great. Whether they are imitating their favorite bands or not, this is one of the most fun and fresh albums of the year.… Full Review »
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