Passion Pit: ‘Manners’

The result of songs penned by Michael Angelakos as a Valentine's Day gift for his girlfriend (which eventually lead to EP ‘Chunk Of Change’), whether he was simply beating the credit crunch or is indeed a modern day romantic, Passion Pit's debut album is masterfully crafted indie-pop which will keep us happy in the summer no matter how much it rains.

Once your ears adjust to the quite possibly helium or castration induced high pitched vocals, you soon realise that ‘Manners’ is a collection of the kind of sparkling pop which we’re used to hearing from the likes of MGMT.

Packed with keyboard and synth hooks more infectious than swine flu (see ‘Make Light’ and ‘To Kingdome Come’), unnecessary amounts of singing children (‘Little Secrets’) and bass that’s made to be squeezed out of a huge subwoofer, this is more than just airheaded, supermarket pop music. It’s genuinely good music, with a real drive and confidence behind it, like musical Prozac.

What makes this album stand out above the rest is the lyrics, which read like little slithers of poetry. ‘In pastures blue and green, I’ll follow you and you'll follow me. My fabrics mystery, I’ll wave your loyalty in the freezing breeze so desperately’ (from ‘Let Your Love Grow Tall’), for instance, is a little abstract but lovely all the same.

‘Manners’ has a distinctive sound, with its loud and brash percussion, high vocals and fuzzy electro licks, which are consistent throughout the album - so consistent that it can all blend into one long multicoloured trip. Thankfully tracks such as ‘Sleepyhead’ (which is actually a bit creepy) and ‘Folds In Your Hands’ (which has a dance edge to it) break the album up and prevent it become tedious and repetitive.

There’s no doubt that ‘Manners’ is a great album, but we should be careful when throwing the phrase ‘next big thing’ around, because bands who are hyped up, especially after an impressive debut, are usually forgotten quicker than they came (anyone heard from the Klaxons lately?).



Released on 18th May 2009 by Columbia.

Written by Jonny Hall.