WK11 - Passion Pit - Manners (9.5)

Released - 6/9/09

Label - French Kiss Records / Sony Music Entertainment

BLURB - To agree with another noteworthy review, this record is, ‘dance music for people who hate dance music.’ I couldn’t put it any better. Several weeks ago I heard one of their songs when the record was initially released, and didn’t particularly enjoy it, and thus instantly formed an opinion that Passion Pit was not for me, despite the album’s sparkling reviews. Second chances are a great thing. Passion Pit’s, ‘Manners’ will definitely be one of the best releases of the year. Their pop-infused charm and airy melodies provide the buoyancy needed to counter a bevy of keyboards and synthesizers that are present at every turn on this record. Amazing.

Rating - 9.5 out of 10

FULL STORY - OK...out with the MGMT comparisons already. MGMT is in a league of their own, untouchable if you will. Passion Pit does follow the leader closely on ‘Manners’ but they do so in their own, unique way. For starters this record is much more pop than ‘Oracular Spectacular.’ There is a certain attractiveness and grace present, and each track bubbles with an air of confidence and charm. Virtually every song is filled with loops, synth, keyboard, vibraphones and any other instrument that has buttons to press or keys to stroke. This onslaught of keyboards, however, is done in great taste and moderation. One can feel that each song wrote itself, innately knowing what to play, and more importantly, what not to play. There is no wasted effort here. There is no ‘trying too hard.’

What drew me in to ‘Manners’ were two songs. ‘Little Secrets’ and ‘The Reeling’ are quite possibly two of the best non-traditional pop songs I’ve ever heard. The opening keyboard riff to ‘Little Secrets’ is intoxicatingly good. It rivals vodka. The chorus also features a choir of school children singing, ‘higher and higher, higher and higher’ which I found ironic pleasure in. The accompanying drum beat is a slow, minimalist, somewhat dancehall groove. Throughout this song are cool synth fills and a veritable factory of sounds. The dangerously high vocals are never unbearable and always interesting. It really is a shame that, outside of college radio, this will never make it out to the masses.

‘The Reeling’ is almost the complete opposite of ‘Little Secrets.’ The pace is much more frenetic and the mood of the song seems to be aimed more at fear and anxiety. I feel like I’m running from the cops when I listen to ‘The Reeling.’ The synth and loops feel very pressuring and tense. There is great uncertainty here, but it’s accepting as if there was an impending armageddon. The lyrics fit the atmosphere brilliantly:

‘And all at once I feel this / Oh how it clings to me / It reels me and calls me towards it / confounding destiny / And I can feel the magnets pinch my hands / The more I run the more I am convinced...”

Passion Pit also brings back the choir of children for the chorus of 'The Reeling,' as they shout ‘Oh no!’ at just the perfect times.

Topping the list of other favorites is ‘Sleepyhead,’ - a dreamy production filled with chimes and vibraphones, and a synth line that rips through the song's simplistic core. ‘Folds in Your Hands’ is equally great and well constructed. This song has a real ‘start and stop’ feel to it without ever stopping or starting. The instrumentation is constantly changing through the verses, creating a sonic wall of sound that never takes one particular shape.

Much of the rest of this record includes variations and differing perspectives on these takes without becoming monotonous, with a few tracks featuring a noticeably slower pace. Diversity is the key here, with each downtempo track complimenting an uptempo track, and vice versa. This is no simple feat. With a sound such as Passion Pit, it’s hard to recreate their style and feel, so many different ways. That would likely be my only critique, they do seem slightly limited as to what they can create and accomplish, despite their limitless talent. This being said, I really have no room to second guess Passion Pit for a second time. I’m quite confident that I would be made a fool...again.

Tracks

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