Of all the different eras of music I've been around to witness, the lo-fi blog pop era of 2008–2012 was the time when it felt like music was being made exactly for me. It seemed like every new buzz band was writing cute pop songs and slathering them in fuzz and reverb — Vivian Girls, Wavves, Washed Out, Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls — and I absolutely loved all of them.
My favourite of the bunch were the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. At the time, I was just learning about what things like C86, Velocity Girl, Black Tambourine, Slumberland, K Records, Flying Nun and Sarah Records were, and the Pains' 2009 debut was a glorious deep dive into an indie pop underground that I instantly fell in love with.
The new compilation Perfect Right Now collects non-album outtakes from the era, including all four songs from their Higher Than the Stars EP (the title track is a particular highlight), as well as the beefed-up 2010 single "Say No to Love" that paved the way for the alt-rocking Belong the next year.
Admittedly, I wish the album included the band's 2007 debut EP. It might not fit the compilation's subtitle, A Slumberland Collection 2008-2010, but still — a compilation of early works feels incomplete without the fantastic "Orchard of My Eye."
Brought together as a 10-song, 31-minute compilation, these early works are a beautiful reminder of a time in my life when I felt like the bullseye of indie culture's target demographic. These songs already sounded nostalgic from the moment they came out, and now, the bittersweet beauty cuts even deeper.