Seraphina Lotkhamnga on May 9th, 2014

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Wednesday night’s sold-out show at the Troubadour was a fine moment for the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and their fans. Even with another live lineup change, frontman Kip Berman returned to his true twee influences for sweet and pure pop on forthcoming album “Days of Abandon.” Slated for a release on May 13 via Yebo, the record is a follow-up to 2011’s “Belong,” but the soundscape has returned to one that is more aligned with their self-titled debut in 2009. Whereas the previous Flood-produced record had ambition for the radio written all over it, new songs on “Days of Abandon” like “Kelly” and “Simple and Sure” ring loud and clear with those dulcet back-and-forth boy-girl verses reminiscent of the Field Mice. Wednesday’s lineup featured Jen Goma (A Sunny Day in Glasgow) on vocals, Jacob Sloan (Dream Diary) on bass, Jessica Weiss from second supporting act Fear of Men on backing vocals and keys, and two original members Christoph Hocheim on guitar and Anthony Hocheim on drums – the last two also being current Angelenos and members of Ablebody, the night’s opening act.

Photos by David Benjamin