In Demand! Passion Pit

Suprisingly the buzz band to emerge from the recent CMJ music conference did not hail from the alt.hit factory Brooklyn but from the far less fashionable Cambridge, Massachusetts. Passion Pit, a one man pop altruist, known to his friends as Michael Angelakos.

Taking clear but not derivative influence from the likes of Flaming Lips and Beck, Passion Pit’s soulful slacker dream pop sounds as relevant as it does classic. ‘Sleepy Head’ pricks listeners attention with its early Kanye-esque high pitched vocals over the top of a pounding backdrop, the band's sound is so dense-layer upon layer of instruments create a smorgasbord of elements to pick up on. The sense of euphoria is strikingly obvious too, all the songs come with happiness strapped to every inch of their bodies. I’ve Got Your Number’s milk bottle top beats meanwhile paints Angelakos in a much darker light, still airy and poppy but with a hint of menace underpinning the lustful vocals. An easy comparison it may be but Passion Pit sounds not unlike The Postal Service in places. A melodic hazy electronic sound indebted to numerous genres and appealing to fans of all.

The only release thus far is an EP (‘Chunk Of Change’ via French Kiss) which was originally recorded as a Valentine’s Day present to Angelakos’ girlfriend which then prompted him to give it out to friends and fellow students at Emerson College. Angelakos wrote and recorded the entire record by himself and it only hints at what is to come from this extremely talented perfectionist. Currently touring the US as a live 5 piece Passion Pit have opened for, amongst others, These New Puritans and Death Cab For Cutie.