In an interview with Pitchfork, vocalist and guitarist Kip Berman explained that the band "wanted the songs to exist in an immediate and instinctual place."[7] He continued:
The album sounds like we're taking away what we were hiding behind before. Lyrically, the first record had a lot of remembered experiences that I was looking back on and trying to make more clever, which can sound contrived. I like the idea of lyrics that don't get beyond themselves but catch you and make an impression. I think that's more emotionally compelling.[7]
Release
In February 2011, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announced that the album would be titled Belong.[8] On March 10, 2011, the full album was made available to stream on the band's website.[9]Belong was officially released on March 29, 2011 by Slumberland Records.[9] In the United Kingdom, it was released by the Fortuna Pop! label.[10] Prior to its release, two singles were issued from the album: "Heart in Your Heartbreak" on December 14, 2010,[11][12] and "Belong" on March 7, 2011.[13][14] A third single, "The Body", was released on July 25, 2011.[15]
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart performed "Heart in Your Heartbreak" on the March 23, 2011 episode of Late Show with David Letterman.[16] In April and May 2011, the band embarked on a tour of the United States in promotion of Belong, on which they were supported by the musician Twin Shadow.[17] Throughout the rest of the year, they toured Europe and the United States.[18] In 2012, the band performed in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore for the St Jerome's Laneway Festival,[19] and toured Asia.[20]
On April 21, 2012, the band released Acid Reflex, a four-track EP consisting of remixes of songs from Belong, for Record Store Day.[21]
Belong was received positively by music critics. It earned a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", on the review aggregation website Metacritic.[23]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kip Berman, Kurt Feldman, Alex Naidus, and Peggy Wang.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Belong"
4:21
2.
"Heaven's Gonna Happen Now"
3:54
3.
"Heart in Your Heartbreak"
3:45
4.
"The Body"
3:54
5.
"Anne with an E"
4:08
6.
"Even in Dreams"
4:24
7.
"My Terrible Friend"
3:11
8.
"Girl of 1,000 Dreams"
2:49
9.
"Too Tough"
4:32
10.
"Strange"
4:22
Total length:
39:20
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.
Title
Length
11.
"The One"
4:04
12.
"I Wanna Go All the Way"
2:42
13.
"Steel Daughter"
3:37
14.
"Tomorrow Dies Today"
3:59
Total length:
53:42
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]
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