Kip Berman Announces the End of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

A fond farewell to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Frontman Kip Berman announced Monday that the band is no longer after 12 years and four albums. The group’s sparkling self-titled debut garnered no shortage of praise and came to define a new era of shoegaze-inspired dream-pop. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was followed by three additional full-length records, 2011’s Belong, 2014’s Days of Abandon and 2017’s The Echo of Pleasure, the last of which was a primarily solo effort from Berman.

Read Berman’s full statement below, in which he explains the life changes behind the end of The Pains, his intent to focus on his newer project The Natvral, and where to find new music from former The Pains members Peggy Wang, Kurt Feldman and Alex Naidus, as well as touring members and others involved with the group:

Kip here. My life has changed radically from the time I started Pains with Peggy, Alex and (soon after) Kurt in 2007, and I’ve decided to focus on a new project @the_natvral. Pains was a distinct moment in my life. I started the group when I first moved to New York and completed our last record, “The Echo of Pleasure,” shortly before my daughter was born and I moved to Princeton, NJ. From that time forward, I never really felt the same – and the music I was creating didn’t feel the same either. But this is good, both for my heart and my music. I know some of you equate “PAINS” with a particular lineup of people, but I’ve always felt that whoever I collaborated with has been “the real band,” because what animated the music was so consistent. But now, that strange something that inspired what we were able to create is absent. What has taken its place feels very different, and I have to express it in a different way. I’ve spent this past year making a new record, and hope to share it sometime next year. In the meantime, you can hear a cover I did of one of my heroes, Dear Nora, in the bio. If you are curious as to what other PAINS people are now up to: Kip: @the_natvral Alex: @massagetheband Peggy: @store_front_nyc Kurt: @kurt_feldman The Ice Choir Tenser Timpani Christoph: @ablebody + live w/ @jerrypaper_reality Jacob: @the_natvral @jeanines Dream Diary (?!) Drew: @wearebeverly @publicpractice Anton: @beachfossilsnyc Jen: Showtime Goma @jengoma Jess Weiss: @fearofmen Elspeth: @shopnoctiluca Jess Krichelle Rojas: @JessKrichelle Chris: @archofloveband Brian: @peeldreammagazine @lunaretteny @the_natvral Photo: Pavla Kopecna