The Purity Ring

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What do we think of these kids? I find myself thoroughly enjoying their record. They've got a groovy sound that's totally now.

I hear a strong Gram Parsons influence, clearly they've been listening to Grievous Angel.

Dig The Purity Ring, people!

kornrulez6969, Sunday, 14 October 2012 02:06 (thirteen years ago)

Starting to grow on me whether I like it or not...liking it but hate how the songs get stuck in my head for several hours.

*tera, Sunday, 14 October 2012 02:17 (thirteen years ago)

Listened to the album a few times today, this is what I wanted from Grimes and Crystal Castles.

Van Horn Street, Thursday, 25 October 2012 00:34 (thirteen years ago)

The first few singles were excellent, they were surprisingly great when I saw them a year ago, and the album delivers, too.

I keep waiting for the whole thing to come apart at the seams, but so far it hasn't. In my opinion, at least.

alpine static, Thursday, 25 October 2012 08:02 (thirteen years ago)

I adore this album

Gandalf’s Gobble Melt (DJP), Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:19 (thirteen years ago)

Gram Parsons influence? Did he influence 90s r'n'b

curmudgeon, Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:23 (thirteen years ago)

Good album. Other electro pop fixates on 80s heyday, this couldn't exist prior to naughties UK bass music. Lyrically its all high school composition bood ruminations on body parts (skin, sternums, lungs, bones, teeth) and a disconcerting range of fluids. Which

Caveats: the highlights (besides "Fineshrine") are on the pre-4AD 2011 singles, and the singer's from the Clare Grogan/Alison Shaw lineage of lost little girls.

‽ Interrobang You're Dead ‽ (Sanpaku), Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:51 (thirteen years ago)

Is it worth seeing them live? the album is growing on me. which i thought was impossible.

Van Horn Street, Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:55 (thirteen years ago)

Let me reedit that entire post again. Must be getting a migraine.

Good album. While other electro pop fixates on the genre's 80s heyday, this couldn't exist prior to naughties UK bass music. Lyrically its all high school composition book ruminations on body parts (skin, sternums, lungs, bellys, bones, teeth) and a disconcerting range of fluids. Which is refreshing, too.

Caveats: the highlights (besides "Fineshrine") are on the pre-4AD 2011 singles, and the singer veers close to the Clare Grogan / Alison Shaw lost little girl territory.

‽ Interrobang You're Dead ‽ (Sanpaku), Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:55 (thirteen years ago)

it's probably a stupid generalisation but i have the feeling a lot of young women artist are really into the body parts/fluids thing. not that i'm against that.

Van Horn Street, Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:58 (thirteen years ago)

i feel like half the contemporary poetry i hear is like that.

have a sandwich or ice cream sandwich (Jordan), Thursday, 25 October 2012 15:08 (thirteen years ago)

I'd add "Crawlersout" and "Obedear" to the highlight list, personally

Gandalf’s Gobble Melt (DJP), Thursday, 25 October 2012 15:12 (thirteen years ago)

At first listen its a tubercular ward or delivery room, but from the lyrics its just sea water, blood, vinegar, tears, sebum, and sweat.

‽ Interrobang You're Dead ‽ (Sanpaku), Thursday, 25 October 2012 15:13 (thirteen years ago)

Every review of this I've read has had incredibly harsh things to say about "Grandloves", which strikes me a little like "EW GET THAT DUDE AWAY FROM MY DEPRESSED FAIRY PRINCESS" reactionism given the strength of the reaction; it's not my favorite song on the album but it's not like it's wholly out of step with the overall vibe or even particularly bad.

Gandalf’s Gobble Melt (DJP), Thursday, 25 October 2012 15:26 (thirteen years ago)

this album = the sound of side-chain compression

*triumphant sauce horns* (crüt), Thursday, 25 October 2012 15:36 (thirteen years ago)

i just think the arrival of a male figure is a weird intrusion on this very secluded forest in which only our own "depressed fairy princess" (to quote DJP) exists, and it shatters the illusion of that world, the singer (from here in edmonton too i believe?) doesn't fit that beautiful-but-underneath-dangerous magical forest vibe at all

king louie riel (rennavate), Thursday, 25 October 2012 16:22 (thirteen years ago)

two months pass...

this album is one of the biggest surprises I had this year; it's semi-amazing to me how many times I came back to it

Bel-Air the Fresh Prince, sitting in a chair (DJP), Wednesday, 16 January 2013 16:52 (thirteen years ago)

I am absolutely stuck on this record. Pretty much everything I wanted from this thread, but never got. As far as this latest generation of synthpop goes, this album is best-of-breed IMO. "Obedear" and "Fineshrines" are obvious favorites, but nothing on the album stands out as being out of place, not even "Grandloves."

I don't understand the hate for that track, as you can hear hints of the dude in the songs leading up to it. IDK if it's more like dude-as-bandmate or -producer or -counterpoint, or more like Timbaland on Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?" or post-XX influence, but it's not necessarily unexpected or unwelcome. Maybe because the album, and especially the vocals sound so "manipulated," that you're aware that it's a duo and bound to hear from the "manipulator" sooner or later.

Maybe I've had too much tonight, or maybe I just have more fun wondering whether the percussion in "Obedear" was bitten from Strafe's "Set it Off" or Snoop's "Drop it Like it's Hot" that other questions about the album pale in significance.

naus, Sunday, 20 January 2013 12:30 (thirteen years ago)

i find grimes' album far more enjoyable because there's more variety

obviously there are big differences between this album and that besides "variety" but the main detractor for me with shrines was that it was too cohesive

monotony, Sunday, 20 January 2013 13:20 (thirteen years ago)

I actively despised that Grimes album.

Bel-Air the Fresh Prince, sitting in a chair (DJP), Sunday, 20 January 2013 15:16 (thirteen years ago)

the male voice isn't the producer guy, it's a sample of a song by another band that has a male singer

james brooks, Sunday, 20 January 2013 17:46 (thirteen years ago)

i'm not saying this was #1 on my ilx ballot or anything, but it was

ciderpress, Sunday, 20 January 2013 17:48 (thirteen years ago)

#1 on my ilx ballot I AM NOT ALONE

Mercer Finn, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 21:26 (twelve years ago)

#5 on mine

Bel-Air the Fresh Prince, sitting in a chair (DJP), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 21:27 (twelve years ago)

I should hear this bunch.

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 21:28 (twelve years ago)

You should! Check out in particular "Fineshrine" and "Obedear"

Bel-Air the Fresh Prince, sitting in a chair (DJP), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 21:31 (twelve years ago)

xp I hated 'Grandloves' but could listen to the rest of Shrines on a continual loop for days on end.

The band remind me a lot of The Sundays. Obv different sounds involved, but that sense of innocent curiosity mixed up with faint dread...

Mercer Finn, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 21:37 (twelve years ago)

xpost -- and having listened to those two, yeah not bad.

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 21:41 (twelve years ago)

seven months pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qVAJBl8WTw

Van Horn Street, Monday, 2 September 2013 17:42 (twelve years ago)

are u in that?

flopson, Tuesday, 3 September 2013 01:32 (twelve years ago)

No :(

Van Horn Street, Tuesday, 3 September 2013 01:55 (twelve years ago)

Not that I want to be in a boiler room video, but I wish I was there for that specific set.

Van Horn Street, Tuesday, 3 September 2013 01:57 (twelve years ago)

yeah everyone lookin pretty lame

flopson, Tuesday, 3 September 2013 02:50 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiV0RN0mPSk&feature=youtu.be

Van Horn Street, Thursday, 4 December 2014 03:14 (eleven years ago)

The teacher has become the student, because that sounds like a slowed-down CHVRCHES song.

Johnny Fever, Thursday, 4 December 2014 03:26 (eleven years ago)

As a fan of both, I enjoyed it. Def. more dense production-wise; everything sounds a bit more upfront. I appreciated the sparseness of their last album, and will have to give this one time.

naus, Thursday, 4 December 2014 03:30 (eleven years ago)

This has to be the most surprisingly positive thread on ILM.

alpine static, Thursday, 4 December 2014 03:48 (eleven years ago)

i think this new track may be my favorite thing they've put out so far

j. winters (josh), Friday, 5 December 2014 07:51 (eleven years ago)

two months pass...

album streaming on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/2015/02/26/387542930/first-listen-purity-ring-another-eternity

Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Thursday, 26 February 2015 20:11 (ten years ago)

Highlights for me so far: Begin Again, Heartsigh, Dust Hymn, Push Pull, Stillness in Woe (in p much that order).

Hit rate much lower than Shrines, but still think I'll love it a good deal.

Mercer Finn, Sunday, 1 March 2015 22:24 (ten years ago)

I'm liking this new one more than I expected. They manage to maintain their core vibe without leaning on the production tricks that were exhausted on Shrines.

Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Sunday, 8 March 2015 15:32 (ten years ago)

My initial impression is that this album isn't as immediately pleasing as Shrines but is still great.

DJP, Sunday, 8 March 2015 15:46 (ten years ago)

it just takes a couple songs to wake up, from the 4th track on it's bangin

call all destroyer, Monday, 9 March 2015 18:02 (ten years ago)

So far it's a disappointment for me :( Shrines is so great, maybe my expectations were too high.

Van Horn Street, Thursday, 19 March 2015 19:33 (ten years ago)

Eh, they've gone a bit to the cheesy side.

the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Friday, 20 March 2015 17:32 (ten years ago)

My appreciation of the album hinged on how much I instantly loved "Stranger Than Earth" and "Begin Again". I was entertained but not as immediately bowled over as I was b Shrines until I heard those two songs back to back; after that, I feel like I was in the right head space to dive into what this album was offering as opposed to wanting a direct copy of Shrines and subsequent playthroughs have made me enjoy the first half of the album a lot more (particularly "Bodyache" and "Push Pull").

DJP, Friday, 20 March 2015 18:45 (ten years ago)

yeah Begin Again is probably the best song they've made.

Van Horn Street, Saturday, 21 March 2015 16:24 (ten years ago)

Kinda wish there was more of this coming from these two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SZ0gF7Fu0M

Van Horn Street, Saturday, 21 March 2015 16:25 (ten years ago)

four weeks pass...

can't deal with this band at all, so dull.

akm, Monday, 20 April 2015 22:53 (ten years ago)

i loved the first record but i think they may be a one-and-done band for me

ciderpress, Monday, 20 April 2015 22:58 (ten years ago)

Yes

kornrulez6969, Monday, 20 April 2015 23:00 (ten years ago)

Purity Ring used to be at least a little bit distinct in a class of bands that all sound roughly the same, but now they just sound like Chvrches with three times the electronics.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 20 April 2015 23:03 (ten years ago)

Sorry Purity Ring. We've moved on to other gauzy synthpop combos. We'll always have 2012.

kornrulez6969, Monday, 20 April 2015 23:32 (ten years ago)

I may just be tired, but I skimmed through the first few posts itt thinking it was about The Promise Ring.

The New Gay Sadness (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 21 April 2015 03:06 (ten years ago)

I still dig both albums a ton

DJP, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 15:11 (ten years ago)

i do really like 'push pull' though so i will continue to give this a fair chance

ciderpress, Wednesday, 22 April 2015 12:51 (ten years ago)

They are playing 2 nights at Terminal 5 in NYC, a huge venue so people clearly still like them.

kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 22 April 2015 14:16 (ten years ago)

they sound exactly like the sort of band people would like but to me they're like a less good ellie goulding or something, to be honest.

akm, Wednesday, 22 April 2015 18:47 (ten years ago)

if Ellie Goulding ever did anything in her music that made me imagine her pulling the wings off of dragonflies, I would find her more interesting

DJP, Wednesday, 22 April 2015 18:49 (ten years ago)

Good god, the new album is such a letdown. They basically killed everything that made them distinct and unique. RIP

octobeard, Thursday, 23 April 2015 01:10 (ten years ago)

Find it weird that the 2nd album is such a disappointment to people. IT's not like a stretch from their first one. I get that people might not like they're thing tho

Fatalist AmandaPalmistry (irrational), Thursday, 23 April 2015 17:19 (ten years ago)

yeah the new one is basically just more of the same, the only reason im not digging it as much as the 1st is the hooks aren't as strong to me

ciderpress, Thursday, 23 April 2015 17:33 (ten years ago)

except for 'push pull' which i've been listening to a lot

ciderpress, Thursday, 23 April 2015 17:33 (ten years ago)

four years pass...

New album suffers somewhat from diminishing returns but they are definitely sticking to their aesthetic plus one song is called “i love the devil”, so 👍🏾

DJP, Thursday, 9 April 2020 17:40 (five years ago)

That was my first impression too, but Rubyinsides and Peacefall are such great tracks that I wish the rest of the album would grow on further listening like the last two albums.

braised cod, Thursday, 9 April 2020 17:47 (five years ago)

"rubyinsides" is fantastic, yeah

I'm also a big fan of "stardew"

Basically I played this about 6 times over the past 24 hours and liked it more each playthrough

DJP, Thursday, 9 April 2020 17:57 (five years ago)

I just listened to most of this without really noticing :(
Stardew is lovely though

kinder, Friday, 10 April 2020 22:44 (five years ago)

It took five listens for me to get into it.

DJP, Friday, 10 April 2020 22:46 (five years ago)

Need to give this more time, but my first impression is that it is more sonically bold than the last one.

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 10 April 2020 23:12 (five years ago)

I picked three songs off each album that I would use to introduce them to a new listener and put them all into a playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1GJ3Qp9Tq9lmx1rNP8umJE?si=MT3-XKzbS6OunR91LK3Myg

DJP, Monday, 13 April 2020 19:23 (five years ago)

yeah so this album rules (shocking that I would come to this conclusion, I know)

DJP, Friday, 24 April 2020 15:42 (five years ago)

one year passes...

Finally giving this a shot after being mostly let down by the second album, and this is fantastic.

Van Horn Street, Monday, 21 June 2021 21:26 (four years ago)

three years pass...

new music coming?
https://purityringthing.com/

gestures broadly at...everything (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 28 May 2025 17:03 (seven months ago)

“many lives”/“part ii” single is on streaming platforms today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcVFFpaVfck

Claude Deb***y (naus), Thursday, 5 June 2025 22:08 (seven months ago)


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