The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Full Moon Fever (2018) [Vinyl]

Over a decade has passed since The Pains of Being Pure at Heart dropped their self-titled debut EP. Massively indebted to bands like The Pastels and The Field Mice, their star shone brightly for a while, even resulting in them headlining several festivals in both Europe and the States.

Of course a lot has changed since then, not least The Pains of Being Pure at Heart having now essentially become a solo vehicle for Kip Berman. 2017's The Echo of Pleasure highlighted a marked shift from Berman's previous works, swapping the lo-fi approach of yore for a more polished, cleaner sound. So it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise he's chosen to acknowledge and cover the understated genius that is Tom Petty.

An idea conceived in a shuttle bus on the way to SXSW at the turn of the decade, Berman's obsession with Tom Petty eventually led him to covering his debut solo album in full. Arguably his finest hour, 1989's Full Moon Fever features many of Petty's best known songs, including "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down." So it's a credit to Berman that instead of playing it safe and covering the originals in a similar style and structure to their creator, he's put his own indelible stamp on them instead. For the most part.

Whether it's likely to attract new devotees to either The Pains of Being Pure at Heart or Tom Petty remains to be seen, but it's a distinguished take on a timeless collection of songs that deserve to live on for generations to come. By Dom Gourlay