Album Review – “Manners” by Passion Pit

It was the Valentine’s Day gift that kept on giving. Passion Pit front man Michael Angelakos intended the bands’ first EP, Chunk of Change, to be the ultimate mid-February cupcake for his college girlfriend. Instead, those six songs created enough hype to land the electropoppers a record deal and send the indie blogosphere into an infatuated tailspin.

Enter Passion Pit’s debut LP, Manners. Fueled by Angelakos’ chilling falsetto belted over party synths, the band manifests a unique sound that fills a previously vacant pop niche. The album’s first single, The Reeling, is an upbeat jam with an eager melody and fate-altering lyrics (It reels and calls me towards it / Confounding destiny). It’s a shaky single to lead with, but it’s a sign that the five guys from Cambridge, Mass., didn’t want to be tethered by Sleepyhead for the rest of their careers. Sleepyhead was the jewel of their EP that has undoubtedly carried over as the gem of Manners. It’s the type of catchy tune with a big beat and superb vocals that can land a band on Planet One-Hit. After hearing the playability of this album, though, they’re not even in the same galaxy.

Passion Pit proved they’re more than a bunch of 80’s misery disco throwbacks. How? The Internet. In a savvy viral marketing ploy, Passion Pit took advantage of their relentless buzz by releasing select new songs to the masses, inspiring a stack of electro-fused remixes and reworks by producers from all over the world eager to put a fresh spin on PP. As if the originals weren’t good enough, harder and faster versions of tracks like Little Secrets, a jovial piece with a chorus backed by a children’s choir, The Reeling, and Sleepyhead, litter the Interwebs for our listening pleasure.

All sang and done, Manners is in the upper echelon of 2009 releases.

Grade: 9/10

Track Listing

1. Make Light
2. Little Secrets
3. Moth’s Wings
4. The Reeling
5. Eyes As Candles
6. Swimming In the Flood
7. Folds In Your Hands
8. To Kingdom Come
9. Sleepyhead
10. Let Your Love Grow Tall
11. Seaweed Song