The Echo of Pleasure
by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  • Record Label: Painbow
  • Release Date: Sep 1, 2017
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. Ricko
    May 1, 2018
    7
    I think The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are a great outfit. I get it that they lack a bit of substance but Kip Berman has a serious ear for a tune. "Belong" is my favourite album of theirs and album number 4, "The Echo of Pleasure" comes a full 6 years after what I would consider to be their peak. From what I can gather, this is an album put together by Berman pretty much on his own. WhenI think The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are a great outfit. I get it that they lack a bit of substance but Kip Berman has a serious ear for a tune. "Belong" is my favourite album of theirs and album number 4, "The Echo of Pleasure" comes a full 6 years after what I would consider to be their peak. From what I can gather, this is an album put together by Berman pretty much on his own. When held against past work, the differences are interesting. Much more synths, a bit more expansiveness and freedom in the songwriting but definitely a thinner, more compressed sound and for me the overall delivery of the material is less powerful than before. The youthful energy that was once a driving force now sounds a little put on. There has been a move away from indie pop and shoegaze to standard pop. The opening few tracks are outstanding and set the album up nicely and the rest of it is decent as well but I would say it's my least favourite Pains album.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Pitchfork
    Sep 7, 2017
    68
    If Abandon was the sound of a young man in flux, then Pleasure is the sound of settling.
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  2. AllMusic
    Aug 31, 2017
    80
    It may not pack the same sonic punch as their early singles, but it has an overall more interesting sound, and the hard-won wisdom and feeling Berman injects into the songs now means that the Pains have transcended their struggles to find a sound, and have truly arrived at last.
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  3. Exclaim
    Aug 30, 2017
    70
    While Berman's sentiments are sweet, there's nothing revolutionary here. That said, revolution isn't a prerequisite for good music, so if insular, sensitive indie rock is your thing, you'll probably love The Echo of Pleasure.
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