Easily one of my favorite bands of the last few years, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s self-titled debut LP has been one of my go-to records, regardless of company, since it was released, and I assure you that Belong will be no different. Where the debut was noteworthy in its fuzzed-out twee/dream-pop imitative accuracy, Belong takes a much slicker, more determined approach. Initially, I was slightly thrown by the very high production values (care of Flood—responsible for the somewhat formative sounds present on many of New Order, Nine Inch Nails, JAMC, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Erasure, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.’s hallmark records…), but it became apparent rather quickly that the sonic upgrade perfectly suited The Pains’ huge step forward in songwriting. Belong is a much grander work than the debut, without being overly ambitious by any means. The pop gems are still there, they’re just bigger, more refined, and better as a whole. Fucking awesome.
–Dave William (Slumberland)