The album opens up with my favorite track off the disc, the jarring first single "Take A Walk". The song is a dreamy, frothy electro delight with introspective vocals courtesy of frontman Michael Angelakos and the steady and consistent drumbeat alludes to the sheer melodic power of this band that sets them apart from the others currently out there today. "I'll Be Alright" is a distorted, jumbled electronic mess but a good mess in the sense that all of the musical pieces are arranged in a fashion where you can put them together like a jigsaw puzzle and have the song speak something exclusively to you that others can't understand. "Constant Conversations" is a romantic, R&B styled ballad that features some electronic inspired influences and Michael's vocals doing an incredible job of matching the tempo of the song with remarkable ease, something that is difficult for other frontmen to do with such remarkable precision. "Mirrored Sea" does a great job of capturing the mood of the song and transports the listener to a whole other dimension where rules need not apply and the listener can explore more of what's on the other side of the musical fence with electronic influenced keyboards running amok at every turn. "Cry Like A Ghost" features more distorted electronic beats and Michael's indelible vocal presence adding a certain comfort level and allowing the listener to feel right at home when they listen to this for the first time.
We kick off the second half of the disc with "Hideaway", a jumbled, all shuffled up track that features some terrific keyboard arrangements and solid work from everyone involved to make this track one of the standouts from this album and is a song that best exemplifies the style of music they're capable of making each and every single time. "Love Is Greed" is a happy, jolly sounding track that is one of the more upbeat tracks found here and features some intricate electro tinged influences and Michael's standout vocal presence help put you in a positive frame of mind here and keep you tuned in until the very end. We start to ease into the album's closing tracks with "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy", a track that features spaced out electronic arrangements and an anthemic sound bringing about a sense of finality as the track aims to close out the album much like the same way it started. "Where We Belong" ends it all with a foamy, electronic lovers delight with a solid track that mixes in ambient instrumentation and Michael's prominent vocal style that allows the listener to put a wrap on everything and close out the album much like the same way the album began, on top. I had heard of Passion Pit about a year before they released their full length debut album, and I was a little skeptical at first because at the time I wasn't a big fan of electronic music and I wasn't really sure what the album would sound like or how it would be received by the general public. But my ease was definitely pushed aside when I first listened to them, and was amazed at how user accessible it was for a guy like me who isn't too familiar with electronic music, but also likes indie music as well and is able to pick upon the different musical elements and put them together in words and sounds that I can easily comprehend. And the fact that almost all of the musicians (minus Michael) went to the Berklee College of Music speaks to mind about the immense amount of talent and knowledge that these gentlemen are capable of expressing at any given time.
To sum it up, a solid and standout second effort here from Passion Pit, while not as great as Manners was, the band is able to put together a terrific effort that allows the band to evolve from a local Boston band into one of indie rock's most talented and consistent acts.
Album Score: 3.5/5
Track Listing:
- Take A Walk
- I'll Be Alright
- Carried Away
- Constant Conversations
- Mirrored Sea
- Cry Like A Ghost
- On My Way
- Hideaway
- Two Veils To Hide My Face
- Love is Greed
- It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy
- Where We Belong
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