Chunk Of Change

Passion Pit | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Frenchkiss
• ASIN: B001DSNG0O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,682 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I've Got Your Number

2. Smile Upon Me

3. Cuddle Fuddle

4. Live to Tell the Tale

5. Better Things

6. Sleepyhead

Editorial Reviews

Boston's Passion Pit is the brainchild of Michael Angelakos. A songwriter's songwriter drawing from a variety of influences, from the classic pop of Randy Newman to the synth work of Giorgio Moroder.

The Chunk of Change EP was originally put together as a (belated) 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. The production of the recording - brief, sporadic, and explosive - worked towards the development of Angelakos signature euphoric and blissfully melancholic sound. Frenchkiss Records will reissue the ep this fall with the addition of two bonus tracks Better Things and Sleepyhead that are already catching the online world on fire. All of this is in preparation for Passion Pit s debut full length coming out in early 2009.

Playing as a five piece live, Passion Pit has already blown away audiences opening up for Death Cab For Cutie, Girl Talk, These New Puritans and more. Also winning the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll as the Best New Local Act of 2008, Passion Pit hopes to bring their soulful dance explosion to your town this fall.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than their foot in the door, November 9, 2008

By 

Matthew C. Geiger "Silent Matt" (Washington, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chunk Of Change (Audio CD)

I don't often put much credence into an EP as a band's entrance into the musical world. But you have to start somewhere. And Passion Pit has that certain magic that I find infectious and has mass appeal. As a minor disclaimer, I'm going to echo a bit of Pitchfork's review of the album, but we often think alike.

First off, I think this album sounds just plain happy, and it does what good music is supposed to: make you think and dance all at the same time. Modern electronica never sounded so good, but it's hard to really say what their intention is with this being just an EP. It covers a lot of ground. To Passion Pit's credit, and as I discovered in my reading, this album, minus the last track, "Sleepyhead," was intended for a single person. A kind of love letter, as it were. Despite that, it communicates a message that goes beyond a single-person audience. David Bevan says it best in his Pitchfork review, "Given the notion that Angelakos initially expected just one person to really listen, the record benefits heavily from that which a lot of us look for in sound or elsewhere: emotional authenticity." Maybe it's just catching lightning in a bottle, but I find it hard to believe that such raw creativity is accidental.

As for similar musical interests, I've seen Passion Pit as being a mixture between the high-pitched, creatively sweet vocals of Postal Service with a smattering of the synths and sampling that give The Avalanches their unique personality (though, admittedly, the sampling is kept to a minimum here). But I don't want to take away from the truly authentic sound they've created. It's hardly a mash-up of already-known bands, and I think their future is wide open.

"Sleepyhead," the one song that was not intended for its single-person audience, shows a breadth of talent and construction that propels it past the previous five tracks. You are shocked awake with the "sleeping giant" quality of "I've got Your Number" and "Smile Upon Me," with their slow, easy starts that lead into cacophonous climaxes, but "Sleepyhead" makes you sit up and pay attention to just what kind of songs Passion Pit has constructed.

All in all, I've never been this impressed by an EP since TV on the Radio's "Young Liars" EP. This is a solid half hour of electronica magic. Give it a listen!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prelude to "Manners", July 6, 2009

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chunk Of Change (Audio CD)

Passion Pit, the brainchild of Michael Angelakos, has created one of the biggest buzz in 2009 of any indie-music bands out there (not unlike, say, Vampire Weekend last year) with its widely acclaimed debut album "Manners". But before "Manners" came this EP. Urban legend has it that Angelakos made a tape as a Valentine's present for his girlfriend (the 4 first tracks on here), which then got passed around, and eventually landed him on Frenchkiss Records.

I'm surely among many others who is listening to "Chunck of Change" (6 tracks; 29 min.) after having fallen for "Manners". As such, this EP is an intruiging look in a band's musical growth. All of these songs were recorded in March/April 2007 (and eventually released on this EP in the Fall of 2008). They truly feel like a band (a one-man band at the time) searching and trying out sounds. Take for example the opener "I've Got Your Number", which sounds like some guy needling at home with his computer and keyboards (which is what it was probably was like). "Smile Upon Me" resonates much better. "Cuddle Fuddle" is one of the highlights on here, a trippy tune featuring mellotrons (or a good recreation of it). Not surprisingly, the last 2 tracks are the best on here, they are: "Better Things", reminding me of the early Jackson 5 of all things (if they were electronic), and "Sleepyhead", the best track on here (and the only song to also be included on the "Manners" album).

In all, this is a must for any Passion Pit fan. Sure, the "Manners" album is better, but this EP is quite the find as well. I was supposed to see Passion Pit at Bonnaroo a few weeks ago but events outside my control prevented me from doing so, but I'll be seeing these guys at the Monolith music festival (at the Red Rocks outside of Denver) in September. Can't wait for that.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, October 8, 2011

By 

Duane L. Rice "Songwriter/Birder" (Chapmansboro, Tn United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chunk of Change (Audio CD)

My mistake for ordering the cd after hearing very little of it. While I appreciate the weirdness and strange sounds and all, I'm still looking for the song underneath it all. Maybe you have to be in the mood, but so far it hasn't happened for me. I'll keep trying though, because I know all to well, some music takes time to grow on you.