Passion Pit: Manners
Passion Pit ask for good Manners on their debut
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Monday, 18, May 2009 02:57
Columbia, out now.
In a nutshell...
Sunny and sweet electropop that's just right for the start of summer.
What's it all about?
This is the hotly-tipped debut album from Massachusetts five piece Passion Pit and follows closely on the heels of their Chunk of Change EP which sparked excitement within the indie ranks back in September.
Who's it by?
Passion Pit formed back in 2007 in Cambridge, Massachusetts when lead singer Michael Angelakos' decided to write six songs as a Valentine gift for his then girlfriend. These six songs happened to become the Chunk of Change EP and became popular at Alex's college and after only a handful of gigs in the Boston area the group signed to New York based label French Kiss and Columbia in the Uk.
The group consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth/samples), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (drums).
As an example...
"Look at me, oh look at me/ Is this the way I've always been/ Oh no." - The Reeling
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
When your tracks are all over MTV and have been used in several major ad campaigns and you've got a summer of festivals in far off lands lined up it's easy to see why hype might make heads swell with the prospect of stardom for the PP gang. Winning a Grammy or not might not be the correct barometer against which to measure the sort of success these lot are likely to achieve but their dreamy prog-pop is certainly new and refreshing enough to perhaps win the hearts of anyone who catches them live.
What the others say
"When not sending toe tips into spasms of appreciation, Manners aims for the heart with a clutch of torch songs for a modernity obsessed with the promotion of the self." - Mike Diver, Clash
"Euphoric, feel good electropop of the indie rather than chart-topping persuasion, with the Massachusetts quartet's debut substituting lost-boy yearning for outright hedonism." - Observer
So is it any good?
Fleshed out with a new band Michael Angelakos' bedroom sounds have certainly expanded but the attention to detail and quality of writing has not been lost at all on this full length effort. Opening track Make Light is teeming with energy and Angelakos' high-pitched falsetto makes its first entry and while his yearning yelp may leave some unconvinced, the big beat, school choir sing-a-long on second track Little Secrets will put an end to any doubts.
Manners is at times childish and playful and very much the sound of teen dreams shattered and made true. The production is excellent and almost a tribute to 80s pop classics of the past but the band have managed to produce a dangerously catchy record that is laden with more hooks than a poacher in Seaworld.
The Reeling is a lush kaleidoscope of sampled beats and sunny synths that speaks a little of the Go! Team and the only track to survive from the early EP, Sleepyhead, makes a newly polished appearance and stands out as the best track on here, but is by no means the only trick up their sleeve.
8/10
Ross McTaggart