Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hits many correct notes for upbeat synth fans, May 19, 2009
Apparently Passion Pit's EP Chunk of Change generated quite a buzz last year. If so, it never reached me. I generally rely on chance and exploration to find new music to listen to. The radio is useless for that, even in my university town. And I don't run in any musical circles.
So, I'd never heard of these guys before, oh, an hour ago. Amazon had the brand new LP on sale for only $2.99. Consider this an untainted review from an outsider, based on first impressions.
This album will surely appeal to fans of The Postal Service. That's because it has a mostly synth sound, a light feel, and vocals in the upper male range. However, Michael Angelakos' voice is shrill and chorused where Ben Gibbard's is soft and tends to stand alone. Another difference is that Passion Pit uses a more traditional "umms-tat umms-tat umms-tat" club drum track, where The Postal Service employs more experimental beats.
Yeah, I called Angelakos shrill. I think he may have banshee blood somewhere in his ancestry. This is especially noticeable on the first track, "Make Light." Maybe its that I'm sleep deprived and easily annoyed, but I couldn't make myself finish that one.
Fortunately, the vocals even out a little as the album goes on. By the time the slow jam "Swimming in the Flood" hits, Angelakos just about convinces me that he can sing.
"Make Light" aside, the album is quite good. "Little Secrets" and "Folds in Your Hands" are sufficiently dancy and 80s enough to attract followers of Cut Copy's excellent In Ghost Colours and Chromeo's Fancy Footwork.
Stand-out tracks are probably "Sleepyhead" and "Little Secrets." The former because it showcases Angelakos' shrillness at its somehow most effective. The latter because of its use of a really triumphant and grinding pad line, fuzzy bass backing, and a strong snare drum.
Uplifting, often pretty, and upbeat, Passion Pit's Manners hits many correct notes with its electronic indie and synth instrument approach. It's going to take me a little longer to focus on the lyrics. This is the kind of music where you don't have to pay attention to enjoy it, but I get the impression there is some depth.
For $2.99 or full price, Manners is worth picking up.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The bouncy trip into the Passion Pit., May 19, 2009
I feel "Sleepyhead" is in the top three best songs of 2008. I feel "Sleepyhead" is in the top three best songs of 2009 [thus far]. Confused yet? Well, "Sleepyhead" was originally released last year on Passion Pit's debut EP "Chunk Of Change" and has been brought back with some slight alterations to this debut LP. Not much is different but there are enough changes to reestablish my proclivity to leave this song on repeat again after completely playing it out last year. It's basically all the same patterns and effects. However, levels have been adjusted for the better. For instance: some of the samples have been slightly muted, while others have been seeming thrust into different channels, which to be truly appreciated should be listened on a surround sound setting. The most notable difference is the extremely well timed bass has been turned up. It adds more depth to the song (especially in the bridge and chorus) and allows it to rise above the previous version which will now likely be considered a demo version.
As far as new additions go, nothing is slacking here. "Moth's Wing" is spectacular. The chorus is so climatic and it's sporadic which helps make this song a notable listen to the very last second. "Eyes As Candles" briefly starts off a tad bland with a simple drum beat and organ pad. However, it quickly gets interesting, and after the first chorus takes you somewhere serendipitous, the song reintroduces the hypnotic bass melody for the second verse. I'm not sure I've heard a more melodic moment on an album this year. Listen to this song in your car and tell me you don't catch yourself subconsciously singing the "na na na-na-na-na, hey hey heeeey" and I will instinctively check your pulse for a beat. "Swimming In The Flood" starts off with a melancholy violin melody that sounds straight out of There Will Be Blood. Enter the dirty drum machine beat, bass, and keys and you find another stellar, hypnotic melody and suddenly I'm a huge fan. "To Kingdom Come" is straight lovely. "Let Your Love Grow Tall" shows these dudes have fun production value down to a science. "Seaweed Song" is like a fun upbeat 80s electronic r&b song and one of my favorites.
This album took a brief moment to grow on me. After my first listen, I wasn't blown away. At least not like I was when I first heard "Sleepyhead" last year. And I think that's where my fault was with regards to this album initially: I craved an album full of "Sleepyheads", songs to just blow me away. You won't find that here. What you will find, simply, is fun, hypnotic electronic songs that I ultimately feel are one of the most cohesive collection of songs released this year. I certify here every song a worthy listen and more than several are just plain spectacular. If there isn't a Passion Pit fan club yet, I want to start one, so, I can proclaim: "I'm not just a member, I'm the President."
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, inoffensive, forgettable., July 23, 2009
Passion Pit has garnered a good deal of hype in the months leading up to the release of their first full-length album, due mostly to the excellent Sleepyhead, the standout track off their debut EP. Disappointingly, Manners fails to expand beyond the elements introduced in that song, and never makes good on its promise of greatness.
Though Sleepyhead appears again on this album, six months of media exposure have dulled its appeal, and it loses a lot of its punch among the slick production that dominates Manners' newer tracks. Those tracks, themselves, are actually pretty good, on the whole. The band has crafted a respectable set of catchy songs, with some really standout tracks on the first half (Moth's Wings, Little Secrets), and no real missteps. Taken all at once, though, the album is kind of a drag- the tracks themselves all sound remarkably similar, making for something of an exhausting listening experience.
And therein lies the main flaw of Manners- instead of growing their sound beyond that of a hit single, they've crafted songs that rehash the various sonic elements that make up that one track. The result is an album of songs that sound a lot like Sleepyhead, but fail to ever surpass it, and instead dilute and distract from what could have been a modern pop gem.
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