Passion Pit will never play a venue this small ever again
Aaaaand, I'm back on the Passion Pit wagon. If you follow Look at me, I made a blog or I force you to listen to me talk about music, you may have noticed that I don't mention Passion Pit anymore. I started listening to them last July and audaciously declared them as "the next big thing" after seeing them at the first show of their Pianos residency. I went on to see them two more times last fall, including at the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase and a packed, sold-out show at Glasslands Gallery. And, sometime after that, I started to lose interest. Their names and faces seemed to be everywhere, destined to meet a Vampire Weekend-like fate of irritating stardom, all without having released a proper debut album.
When this much hype surrounds a band that I like, I try to be cautiously optimistic about their forthcoming album. After hearing "The Reeling," the first single off Manners, I honestly wasn't that impressed. Sure, it's catchy and children's choirs seem to be the fad of the year (i.e. Grizzly Bear, Peter Bjorn & John), but it seemed almost overproduced and dragging in length towards the end. I still listened to it a lot, but it didn't have the viral charm of the Chunk of Change EP. Hearing "Little Secrets" over the weekend chased away my reservations about the new album, and now I can't wait to hear more of Manners. I can't really explain it, but the intro to "Little Secrets" is the most addicting 24 seconds I have heard in a very long time. Who knew that some simple synth lines with cowbell could be so dangerous? Just a rough estimate, but I believe I've listened to this one song for about four hours since Saturday. Before I'm even over "Little Secrets," Passion Pit released a new song yesterday that will also see heavy rotation on my playlists. Opening with strums that are reminiscent of the Beatles' "Across the Universe," "Moth's Wings" sounds unlike any other Passion Pit song thus far, especially with Angelakos refraining from reaching his upper vocal register. "Moth's Wings" is still very much a pop song, but it hints at songwriting skills beyond fun dance hits like "Sleepyhead."
So much for managing expectations. I'm counting down to the release of Manners on May 19. Does anyone have extra tickets to any of the Bowery shows? Shouldn't have snoozed.
Little Secrets - Passion Pit
Moth's Wings - Passion Pit
April 28, 2009
"Moth's Wings" & "Little Secrets" - Passion Pit
February 25, 2009
"You Were Young" - Giantess
via Giantess Myspace
If you can't get enough of Passion Pit, fear not because another Boston-based band is bringing you all the electro ear candy that you could possibly handle without exploding. Giantess comes recommended to me by the same friend who introduced me to Passion Pit last July. If you take a listen to "You Were Young," this recommendation will be unsurprising since I could imagine people easily mistaking this for a PP track. I did a little searching and turns out Ayad (synths) of PP produces the band. Mystery solved.
Beware, this song is extremely catchy. I didn't think too much of it at first, but then I was humming it at work today. It's kind of annoying that I can't get it out of my head. And, now I'm dancing in my chair. The best kind of dancing, of course.
Giantess' debut is expected to drop on Neon Gold next month. Hopefully, an upcoming NY show is in the works.
In other semi-related news, Neon Gold is raving about the upcoming Passion Pit LP. Hope it lives up to the hype.
You Were Young - Giantess | Alternative Link
October 22, 2008
BrooklynVegan CMJ Showcase - MHOW 10.21.08
Note: Blogger took down the original post due to DMCA issues
Passion Pit
Singing DJ Jens Lekman
via Escape Sounds
Passion Pit = HOT
As you can see to the right, Passion Pit has been one of my current obsessions since their pre-Forkcast days. To put it lightly, they killed last night. Without much surprise, these guys have definitely grown since their first show at Pianos. I'm sure that it helps that everyone is talking about this band. Talk about a great confidence booster. I'd wondered how Passion Pit would fare on the larger stage of MHOW, but it turned out that a bigger setting was more appropriate for PP’s sound and energy. Compared to the Pianos set, everyone looked visibly more comfortable and as if they were actually (gasp) having fun. What really caught my attention about this performance was that Michael Angelakos varied up the vocals a bit so that he wasn’t singing in his upper range the entire time. There were some concerned comments about that from the first Pianos show, and it seemed like Angelakos had taken them to heart. Passion Pit played a great version of “Better Things,” which was one of the first tracks that hooked me into this band. I like when bands sound slightly different live and still manage to deliver. Isn’t this the point of seeing any show? Anyway, there was a song (or two?) that I didn’t recognize, since they’re not on Chunk of Change. Setlist, anyone?
A Singing DJ is exactly what you’d expect
I should have gone into this with no expectations. Instead, I dreamt of Jens’ emotionally manipulative voice, serenading the crowd with lyrics about how his heart has been set on fire. So, maybe I set myself up for this letdown, because a singing DJ is exactly that – a DJ who occasionally sings. Singing DJ Jens Lekman's set was interesting, to say the least. He spun “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey,which is arguably one of the best pop songs of the ‘90s (Confession: Fantasy may have been one of the first CDs that I'd owned). Regardless of good DJing choices, Jens’ performance of “Sipping on the Sweet Nectar” was not enough to satisfy. I wish there would have been less spinning and more singing. I guess I was hoping for a DJing singer.
I kinda liked Ponytail (K., don’t kill me)
Ponytail confused me at first, and now I’m intrigued. Is Ponytail my new Animal Collective? Will be listening to them when I get home today.
Also...who is Thor of Shearwater?
Wikipedia tells me that he is a musician, painter, and carpenter. His instruments include “found instruments and homemade instruments.” All I know is that he wears a braid, played a hammer dulcimer, and people kept on yelling out his name. A great name, too.
Official BV announcement here.
More Passion Pit here. More Jens here.
August 14, 2008
Passion Pit - Pianos 08.13.08
This is the real thing. I'm always looking out for the next big thing, and I'm convinced that it's Passion Pit. I blogged about these guys earlier last month. Then, they were forkcasted and mentioned (perhaps re-mentioned) on bv. Suddenly, my measly post is getting a lot of hits.
And, all for the right reasons. My friend told me that after seeing Radiohead in concert, music would not be the same to me for at least another month. Yes, this is true to a certain extent. I'm still going through a period of post-Radiohead recovery. But, life goes on after Radiohead, especially when there is a band like Passion Pit. After the experience I had at Radiohead, that's a huge compliment.
Passion Pit announced a three-week residency at Pianos not too long ago, and I wanted to be there on the very first night. My friend had seen them open up for Girl Talk in New Haven, and told me that these guys were the next new thing to be excited about. And, I definitely agree. I spent about two weeks exclusively listening to "Better Things." When Passion Pit performed that song tonight, it reminded me of all the mornings I started by playing that song. And, yes, I had some unpleasant days that were made much better (no pun, intended) by that song.
This is music that's just fun. When was the last time you heard music that was genuinely fun without trying? Not that Passion Pit's songs are simple by any means. Passion Pit has a certain charm, and you can't help but moving along to the beat. It's almost a joke that they're getting so many comparisons to MGMT, because they are clearly much, MUCH better, and I would say that they are much more creative, as well. A venue like Pianos was perfect for Passion Pit's big NYC debut. It was small enough for everyone in the audience to get an up-close Passion Pit experience. In fact, it could barely contain the energy of the entire group. I'd love to see them in a larger setting, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them play a larger venue very soon.
The very highly anticipated Chunk of Change EP is due on September 16, and an LP is to be expected in early 2009. Passion Pit will be performing at Piano's on August 20 and 27. I'm definitely going to go back, if I can. Next time, I hope they play a longer set. I can't get enough!
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
Better Things - Passion Pit
More free downloads at Last.fm.
July 14, 2008
Passion Pit
via LAS magazine
Edit: I just listened to some of EP today and it's awesome. The countdown begins.
Hailing from the non-Brooklyn city of Boston, Passion Pit was introduced to me by someone who sits a couple seats away from me every day and not by choice (Thanks, Nick!). I wish I could recall the exact words he used to describe Passion Pit, but all I remember is MGMT meets ... 5-6 other bands. The five-piece Passion Pit, led by Michael Angelakos, was recently picked up by Frenchkiss Records, home to The Dodos, Les Savy Fav, and The Hold Steady. They've also opened for Girl Talk, so they have something in common with Tay Zonday of "Chocolate Rain" fame. I haven't heard that much yet, but I'm curious to hear more.
Chunk of Change EP is due on September 16, and an LP is to be expected in early 2009.
Tracklist (via Hate Something Beautiful)
1. I've Got Your Number
2. Batty Lashes
3. Smile Upon Me
4. Cuddle Fuddle
5. Tons of Guns
6. Live to Tell The Tale
7. Better Things (Bonus Track)
8. Sleepyhead (Bonus Track)
Passion Pit will be performing at Piano's on August 13, 20, and 27. Check 'em out if you can!
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
Better Things - Passion Pit
More free downloads at Last.fm.
