The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Contender"

I remember reading or hearing somewhere (chances are it was in a Borges essay) that a nineteenth century intellectual was tormented by the fear that the realm of possible musical compositions was finite and would eventually be exhausted, that one day there would simply be no new music left to write. This vision of musical apocalypse fascinated me, and I am reminded of it, and of its fallacy, whenever I encounter quality, original music formed from familiar ingredients. After all, what chance is there of depletion when delving into even intensely well-mined territory can produce music of novel, thrilling vitality? Is This It, anyone?

Consider then, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. A more cynical listener might balk at the many venerable strains of Indie commingling in the Brooklyn band's debut self-titled album: the buzzing guitar-scramble rush of early My Bloody Valentine, the melancholy jangle of 80's British bands like the Smiths, and the weightless, sighing vocal melodicism of twee-pop and the fey-er side of indie pop. I like the album best when the band puts muscle behind its mumble ("Come Saturday", "Hey Paul", the ascendant chorus of "Stay Alive", the cavernous "Gentle Sons"), but standout opening track "Contender" is the exception that proves the rule, a simple concoction of fuzzy bass, guitar and tambourine, all anchored to a continuous note of bell-like feedback. "Contender" particularly evokes Belle and Sebastian via its exceedingly effective, lighter-than-air vocal melody, which, like vintage Belle and Sebastian, is so carefully, wittily crafted and delicately delivered with just the right touch that it sounds effortless.

Also, speaking of mining well-worn territory, this song is just about the one-billionth successful reiteration of the 1-4 back-and-forth chord progression (to hear the 1-4 interval, think the first two notes of "Amazing Grace"); LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends", The Strokes' "Modern Age", the immortal New Order duo of "Ceremony" and "Age of Consent", about three or four really solid songs from Clap Your Hands' first album, U2's "Bad", B&S's own "If You Are Feeling Sinister"... the list goes on and on. (thanks to Chen for some of these examples)