The long-running Hoboken, New Jersey, trio's favorite devices are neatly evidenced on this 1993 disc: barbed guitar freakouts by Ira Kaplan, breathily exquisite Georgia Hubley vocals ("Nowhere Near"), an obscure but excellent cover choice (the Only Ones' "The Whole Of The Law"), and a love for sonic texture that's backed up by first-rate songwriting. Subtle at its loudest and vital at its most subdued, Painful is built around a series of hovering, dreamy bass and organ drones matched by the singers' purr, but propelled by Hubley's insistent rhythms and Kaplan's prickly guitar leads. Includes MP3 download coupon.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Big Day Coming
2. From a Motel 6
3. Double Dare
4. Superstar-Watcher
5. Nowhere Near
6. Sudden Organ 4
7. A Worrying Thing
8. I Was the Fool Beside You for Too Long
9. The Whole of the Law
10. Big Day Coming [Second Version]
11. I Heard You Looking