A cute collective of three guys and a keyboarding, harmonizing gal, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart headlined a show on Valentine’s Day at the Monkey House.

Soft-rockers and Brooklynites, The Pains can keep their black skinny jeans and V-Neck sweaters.

Their “sweet” and “savory” sounds are fun and fresh – wooing not only the tough audiences of hipster New York City but also mega music critic, Pitchfork Media.

Sporting a generous but very legit 8.4 – mere decimal points from the score of Pitchfork’s No. 1 album of 2008 – and sitting as a permanent fixture under Pitchfork’s “Best New Music” page for two weeks, The Pains are gracefully rocketing 90 degrees upward in the alternative music realm.

Washed in all blue light, the four Tri-State Area 20-somethings charmingly unraveled their mystique between each song with goofy, appreciative grins and winsome commentary.

“The music was good for a Valentine’s Show because it was so poppy and lovey-dovey and stuff,” UVM sophomore Shane Kerr said. “[The sound] was generic pop rock, but with a louder, fuzzier sound.”

It was the kind of show where the people in the first couple of rows look directly at the floor and shuffle to each prominent Wall of Sound-esque drum beat and heavy bass strum.

Even better than vocalist Kip Bernard’s velvety, whisper voice and keyboardist Peggy Wang-East’s vision-blocking black bangs, was bassist Alex Naidus’ confession; “We are all totally nerds,” Naidus said. Music nerds, that is.

Rattling off their favorite “other awesome underground Brooklyn bands,” Bernard and Wang-East gave insight into their favorites: “Watch out for Girls, German Measles, Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls [and] The Beets” the two said.

Wang-East attributes their dancing-friendly, pop/soft punk melodies to the lives they lead, which are “still kinda like a Judy Blume novel,” he said.

Innocent and sweet, their songs emulate the band name’s origin – and member’s personalities.

“The Pains of Being Pure At Heart is an unpublished children’s story written by a friend of mine in Oregon,” Bernard said. “I just thought that was the most wonderful thing ever.”

Continuing their nation-wide tour in promotion of their first self-titled LP, The Pains aren’t trying to impress or depress anyone.

Underneath the new-wave talent is a group of friends who quit their jobs at The Gap, got lucky, sing about love and laugh too much like the rest of us.