Tonight's the night. I've gven you previews and persuation related to the first three bands on tonight's Neon Lights bill at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. The Beets will bring some ramshackle grage charm, the Capstan Shafts a fiercely intelligent, singular vision, My Teenage Stride has sharp edges played smoothly, but it's the Pains of Being Pure at Heart who bring the swoon. Head over heels in love with indie-pop as a genre and philosophy, POBPAH bring fierce intelligence and wit to their contributions. Plaudits have poured in from impressive commenters like the FADER, Dusted, the L Magazine, Stereogum, and Germany's apparently hipper version of Rolling Stone. Like any fuzzy pop band worth their salt, they are appreciated on a higher level in the UK, where they'll be opening for Peel show legends the Wedding Present on their upcoming tour. This is the last NYC show the Pains will play before heading back to the indie-pop mecca of Sweden. While they plan to return in winter, the land of herring and high cheekbones has permanantly ensnared stronger folk then they. Come tonight before its too late!

the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Young Adult Friction"

This most recent track from the band, slated for inclusion on their impending debut LP, is to my ear their best. The rhythm is winter-morning crisp, the vocal interplay between singers Kip and Peggy is gorgeous, and there's even a muscular guitar bridge. It sounds effortless and complex, at once. It also works the word "microfiche" seemlessly in to a story of library humping. It's sort of the perfect specimen of its type. Check this stanza; "I never thought I would come of age/ let alone on a moldy page/ you put your back to the spines/ and you said it was fine/ if's there's nothing really left to say."

the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Kurt Cobain's Cardigan"

While it would be uncharacteristic for the Pains to express their iconic love for Kurt Cobain and his shoulder-warming wardrobe, the cleverly take the next best tactic of aping Kurt's favorite band, the Vaselines. After an opening that gets the Pavlovian "Son of a Gun" juices flowing, Kip's "tweeverbed" vocals rush in to soothe the young, myopic, and lonely hearted. "It's the last night of our young lives, tonight." Well, at least until tomorrow...

the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "A Teenager in Love"

If this one doesn't trigger a fey make out avalanche, I might be slightly disappointed. The remarkable thing here is the black humor, sincerely delivered, amidst a backbeat that would make Molly Ringwald do that one dance. The model for the success there is clearly Belle & Sebastian. They see B&S's confused protagonist, preoccupied with "S&M and bible studies," and raise them "a teenager in love with Christ and heroin." Not everyone's cup of tea, indeed.

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So, the stage is set, the line-up elaborated on, the hours ticking away. If you haven't left town for the long weekend, I sincerely believe that this is the best show here tonight. Come, dance, drink, yearn desperately to make a connection with a foxy concert goer, and a) regret saying nothing, or b) feel guilty about your succesful dalliance. Go home and write a song about it. It's the indie-pop tradition. See you at 9.