Passion Pit - Lifted Up (1985)

Back in 2008 when Breaking More Waves was just a blog babe in arms we named Passion Pit as one of our Ones to Watch for 2009 and then blogged the hell out of them throughout that next year. (Even now Sleepyhead sounds such a brilliant wonky pop song). Maybe it was blog burn out, but more likely than that after the release of debut LP Manners Passion Pit’s follow up material didn’t really hit the spot for us and hence hasn't featured on the blog since. Until today. For Lifted Up (1985) is a celebratory technicolour pop triumph.

“1985 was a good year,” sings Michael Angelakos in that squeaky falsetto.  Well, in the UK the likes of Madonna, Dead or Alive, Eurythmics and Paul Hardcastle all had number 1 hit singles then, so that was pretty decent, but then we had to endure Jennifer Rush, Shakin’ Stevens and Elaine Page & Barbara Dickson as well, so swings and roundabouts really. But frankly Angelakos could be singing “I ate stinky cheese for my tea,” for all we care because this one is a deliriously feel good stomping anthem of the highest order. Welcome back to the blog Passion Pit. The new album Kindred is out in April.

Passion Pit - Lifted Up (1985)

Ones To Watch - How Did We Do ?

It’s almost December. Which means it’s time for a look back as well as a look forward. Over the next month we’ll be blogging our way through our favourite ten albums of the year as well as listing ten artists that we believe could be ones to watch in 2010.

In a change from 2008 we’re going to start with a look forward. The reason being that last year just as we began publishing our list of Ones To Watch the BBC went and published their Sound of 2009 list earlier than normal. To our surprise six of the artists we had chosen were in the BBC’s long list of fifteen. So this year to avoid any criticism of just copying the BBC list we’re making sure our list appears early. Mind you this year we actually had a tiny influence over the BBC list as we were asked by the BBC to be one of the participating voters in their Sound of 2010 poll. We're not sure how many bloggers get asked to participate, we know of at least one other (a list of those who voted will appear on the BBC website soon) but we guess it's a bit of an honour, effectively being recognised as having some degree of expertise in new music. The three artists we voted for in the BBC poll feature in our own list of ten, but we'll leave you to see if you can guess which three we voted for.

Not that we expect all of our list to be the same as the BBC list, particularly as some artists such as Marina and the Diamonds, who we fully expect to be on the BBC list, don't qualify for our list (read next Mondays blog for our explanation of why).

But before the gate opens, let’s have a quick recap of our Ones To Watch 2009 list and see how they fared.

#1 La Roux

We said “What sets her apart from a multitude of dance floor kids is a pop sensibility that knows how to deliver a half decent tune.”

In For The Kill became a genuine pop phenomenon, slowly climbing from number 11 to number 2 in the singles chart, whilst Bulletproof went one better. The eponymous debut album went to number 2 in the UK, 7 in Ireland and 8 in Canada.

#2 Little Boots

We said “Little Boots is exactly what we want our pop stars to be.”

Little Boots topped the BBC Sound of List but failed to capitalise on its exposure, finally releasing the very average New in Town in May which went top 20. The album Hands entered the charts at number 5 but quickly fell away, only re-entering the lower reaches of the Top 40 when the far superior Remedy was released as a single. The initial quirky charm that we heard on Stuck On Repeat and saw on her bedroom You Tube cover versions seemed somewhat diluted by the end of the year, but if her record company keep going with her we still think there is possible unfulfilled potential.

#3 Passion Pit

We said “They will bring a lot of smiles, and if there is any justice Sleepyhead will be one of the songs of next year in the UK.”

Sleepyhead was never released as a major label single in its own right in the UK, (there is no justice) and although the band didn‘t achieve commercial highs, their debut album Manners received much critical acclaim and charted at number 55. The band grew as a live act during the course of the year, playing bigger shows as the year progressed, plus there were several festival appearances including the main stage at Bestival.

#4 Giantess

We said “It’s very early days for this band but Breaking More Waves reckons their Myspace friend count will soon be on the way up.”

The band renamed themselves Yes Giantess, put out a white vinyl 7" single, supported Little Boots in the U.S and were picked to play on the NME Radar Tour in the UK in October. They’ve recently been recording with a number of big name producers including Pascal Gabriel (Ladyhawke, Dido, Little Boots, Kylie) in France and have had some major label interest. In November one of their number (Karl) announced he was to leave the band, his parting gift a superb downloadable mix tape. Yes Giantess continue into 2010. Their Myspace friend count has indeed risen significantly since we first wrote about the band and they have a bag of big tunes ready to go including that hooky as hell No Reason.

#5 White Lies

We said “Have potential to be a commercial success.”

The bands debut album went to number 1 in the UK and White Lies have played many big gigs and festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading and Leeds. Personally for Breaking More Waves our opinion is that the album was too contrived and weakened by schoolboy lyrics.

#6 Skint and Demoralised

We said “No doubt many young lasses will fall for him.”

If they young ladies did fall for Skint and Demoralised they forgot to buy his records. The single Red Lipstick picked up some Radio 1 play but come October the record company had ditched plans to release a further single or the album that was ready to go. Matt Skint got his hair cut and started presenting football reviews on You Tube. In February our review of his poorly attended live show at Brighton Audio commented that it was only when he dropped the music and delivered an anti BNP poem without a microphone that he came into his own and that “Maybe this is where his future lies.”

#7 Alessi’s Ark

We said “Unlikely to find huge commercial pop success, but is certainly an act to be championed.”

As predicted Alessi didn’t find huge commercial pop success, but her album Notes From The Treehouse was an endearing and sweet record. At the time we described the record as having “A sense of music wonder and magic.”

#8 Florence And The Machine

We said “An exciting proposition.”

Florence exceeded our expectations, her album Lungs being a triumph musically and it attained significant commercial success, remaining at number 2 in the album charts for five weeks, held off the top spot only by Michael Jackson. Her live shows became more focussed and as a result got better and better, with her performances at Camp Bestival and Brighton Concorde being two of our favourite gigs of the year.

#9 Mumford and Sons

We said “Will warm you deep inside.”

Mumford and Sons profile grew slowly over the course of the year. They proved that the old fashioned virtues of playing great gigs and having good songs will deliver you a loyal fan base. The band signed to Island Records and the subsequent release of their debut album, Sigh No More, at the start of October, saw the band hit number 11 in the UK charts. Not bad for a folk / bluegrass act. Bellies were warmed.

#10 Marina and the Diamonds

We said “This maverick cat has already ruffled a few feathers with her blogs on Myspace, which she has now removed declaring that she will never open her mouth again.”

Marina has released two critically acclaimed singles on the Neon Gold label and has now signed a major record deal with 679/Warners, releasing Mowgli's Road in November. An album is due for the early part of 2010. She back tracked on her promise of keeping her mouth shut and has a fully functioning, active, entertaining blog.

Now let's move on up.

It's almost time for this years Ones To Watch list. On the 30th November we shall explain our criteria for selection and rules of engagement. Then on the 1st December enjoy our musical advent calender as we reveal who our Ones To Watch are, each act hiding behind a different musical door on the countdown to Christmas. This will the be swiftly followed by our Top Ten albums of the year list and then, well, that's pretty much it till next year except for a few random articles that we have floating around that we haven't yet posted following our 'one blog a day' rule. Go !

Bestival 2009 - Part 2

After a quiet opening on the Thursday night with a screening of This Is Spinal Tap, some DJ’s and The Cuban Brothers gracing the ten thousand capacity Big Top, Bestival 2009 starts properly at Friday lunchtime with local electro brother sister duo Arcade Eden opening the main stage to a small crowd. Like a fertilization between Crystal Castles and The Ting Tings, the Isle Of Wight bleep kids set the scene with lead vocalist Clare twirling around arms aloft and sporting the shiniest figure hugging silver dress this side of the solar system. The bands sound is achingly now, full of computerized zap that would be better suited to the dance floors than an almost empty field, but they do a pretty good job of bringing the disco outside.

“This is the start of the festival, you’ve all had a bath and now you’re ready to get dirty,” announce Efterklang from the Big Top stage. Not that their Nordic orchestrations are in any way filthy. The bands expansive organic sound is just right for a little afternoon dreaminess, the lead vocalists humbleness seeming well pitched with an audience who have yet to rise to their feet. Trumpets and violins sweep and soar till eventually everyone gets up, the bands bold warmth coming up trumps.

A few days ago Breaking More Waves saw Passion Pit play one of the most exciting gigs we have seen this year in a sweaty club in Brighton. Today at Bestival a small young partisan crowd feel that excitement at the front of the main stage, but the groups performance is also tempered by a large number of curious onlookers. The studio trickery of the bands debut album is inevitably going to be difficult to produce live, but to Passion Pits credit they manage to force a bonanza of euphoric juddering synth sounds out into the space. Passion Pit will always be a band who polarise audiences such is the nature of the squealing asexual falsetto vocals, but those who can stand it will find their schmaltzy hooks infectious. When we first saw the band earlier this year (review here) lead singer Michael Angelakos was restricted by playing keyboards. This idea has now been ditched, Angelakos storming the stage with venom, leaving the music to his band members. It gives the band an extra energy and vibrancy that they haven’t had before, meaning that tracks such as the bouncing Make Light and the kids choir pop of Little Secrets leave you feeling stupidly great.

Part of what separates Bestival from other festivals is the way it mixes comic elements amongst the coolest bands and DJ’s.Barry Peters Halifax Hospital Radio are in their own words “Wrong but correct,” a Bestival institution fitting the comic bill perfectly. Bringing dance routines from the lycra clad camp duo Double Pentration and whole chunks of DJ cheddar Barry Peters asks us to “Don’t be shy show us your pie, don’t get nasty show us your pasty,” before introducing a track by his ‘ex girlfriend’ Gloria Estefan. If you fail to laugh at Barry Peters you obviously left your sense of humour at the gate when you came in.

The main stage continues with Friendly Fires. Now, we’ve seen this band several times before but today they are a revelation bringing a colourful adrenalin rush of funky disco beats and clattering percussion to get the dancing started. Lead singer Ed has possibly the most saucy spasming hips in the world; his lack of self conciousness in his dancing generating vibration in the audiences sexual organs. The man is possessed by the rhythm. Indie dance suddenly seems like a great idea. Jump In The Pool and Paris are tight and fit, the band sounding like gay sex with a straight man. It may be formulaic but when the formula adds up this nicely, why subtract anything ?

Regular readers will know that we love Florence and the Machine, and two of our favourite performances this year have come from young Florence. Maybe it’s a case of one too many gigs or the quiet volume at the side of the stage where we stand, but this time Florence fails to move us. Both Florence and her band are glamorous in green and gold, but her deranged passion seems lacking a little today, only Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) with its Italian house piano towards the end really igniting the fire as red as Florence's hair.

Opting to miss MGMT on the main stage, we instead seek out Little Boots who is performing a DJ set in the open air Rizla Arena under a gorgeous pinky orange sky; by all accounts its a good move on our part, reports reaching us that MGMT were atrocious. We can see today why Little Boots is called such - she can hardly see over the DJ booth. Whilst she's not the greatest of DJ's, she does a reasonable job, but suggest she keeps on with her main occupation for now.

So our final live band of the day before we dance into the night at the Afterburner stage are headliners Massive Attack. The band are dark, atmospheric and brooding, frostily touching with cold beats and opiate synths. Massive Attack are probably not the ideal band for a hedonistic and by now rather drunken audience, bringing subtle politics by way of an impressive dot matrix screen behind them that flashes messages such as Wordsworths “We must be free or die,” and the universal declaration of human rights. Vibrant party classics are not what you get from Massive Attack, instead an awkward but imposing moodiness is their realm. However as the set builds and Martina Topley-Bird is reunited with the band, the feeling seems to slowly lighten, the grooves becoming more fluid. Teardrop gets a huge cheer and Safe From Harm is a fist through glass explosion that shatters the night sky. The band communicate very little with the crowd except for when Robert Del Naja quips that it’s his sisters birthday which is “quite positive actually.” Massive Attack let the music do the talking, and that talk is earnest and deep not superficial chatter.

It’s our last band of the day, and as the site really lifts off into the early hours of the morning with a booming party vibrancy, the DJ’s continue our pleasure trip bringing the night to a superb close at the Afterburner (described in Part 1 and pictured above), with explosions of fire, searching spotlights and big big tunes. Its sets everything nicely up for Saturday.

Passion Pit - Manners

OK, let’s get this straight. Some of the songs on Manners by Passion Pit are some of the most musically joyous pop moments you will hear all year. The evidence ? Listen to opener Make Light, a humping indie disco track which rises tower block high in the chorus. Or perhaps Little Secrets with its squelchy synthesiser workout that finds its groove and drives it straight into a giddy hook with a children’s choir singing about feeling higher and higher. Then there’s Moths Wings where Passion Pit show that pop music can take big widescreen cinematic sounds and claim them as its own; hands in the air euphoria doesn’t have to belong only to rock beasts or dance heads. You’ve probably heard The Reeling, a juddering bucking animal of a pop single, that has that rare quality of sounding good on first listen but gets even better on the twentieth. You just know that the killer “Oh no, oh no,” is going to slay you every time. And even where the tunes are not so joyous such as the downbeat Swimming In The Flood the level of musical consistency remains high. If you like what you have heard so far from Passion Pit you will like this album.

Manners is an advert for technicolor studio perfection. The production is huge and imaginative, taking pop music to higher and bigger levels. It’s the kind of album that shouldn’t even be attempted to be played live. All credit to the band for not taking the brilliant Chunk of Change EP and just adding a few tracks; only a re-recorded woozy and multi faceted Sleepyhead crosses over from that release onto Manners.

Yet for all the “Na na na” hooks on Eyes As Candles and dreamy “Oo oo oo oo‘s,” on Let Your Love Grow Tall, Manners is unlikely to cross over to the mainstream. This is strictly pop music for those who like their sugar with a little sharpness amongst the smiles; call it indie if you will. It is probably just too quirky for most and is unlikely to find itself chart bound. The squealing asexual falsetto chipmunk vocal of Michael Angelakos will grate with many, and the bands lack of visual identity will give the fashion hipsters little to hang on to; but for those who enjoy the buzz of quality melodic music with plenty of keyboards, hooks and a whole raft of decent songs, rather than two or three singles and some filler, Manners will do the job very nicely indeed.

And on the subject of Passion Pit, check back here tomorrow for an amazing cover of the band (and it's not The Mummers one !)

Passion Pit - The Reeling ( Video )

Sadly Passion Pit have had to cancel their second visit to the UK where they were due to tour with Rob Da Bank and make an appearance at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton. "Due to a personal situation at home, we will unfortunately not be able to play our May UK/Euro dates," the group explained in a statement. "We feel really awful about this and hope that everyone understands. We are looking forward to getting back overseas soon to make up all these shows for you." In the meantime, for dissapointed fans, console yourselves with the video for the new single The Reeling which was posted on the internet today for the first time.

Passion Pit - The Reeling

Here at Breaking More Waves we don't normally post reviews of singles so upfront as this, but right now we are feeling like a desperate lover, unable to constrain our unbridled lust for the new Passion Pit single The Reeling. So review it we must even though the damn song isn't out until the 11th May in the UK.

The Reeling is confirmation that the Chunk Of Change EP wasn't just a fluke and that our tipping of Passion Pit as one of our Ones To Watch For 2009 was entirely justified. The Reeling is dizzy distorted dance pop that rides the wave of hype with a keyboard shaped surfboard and seventies style disco beats. Michael Angelakos banks his trademark falsetto up against a full on children's choir with an infectiously catchy chorus of "Look at me oh look at me, is this the way I'll always be, oh no, oh no." It's a shuddering beast of a pop single that deserves to be heard at every indie dance party in the land.

There's no video at the moment, but if you haven't heard it on the radio yet, this handy little widget will let you hear the song.

Passion Pit + Hockey @ Brighton Audio

Passion Pit bring the live incarnation of their Chunk of Change EP and tunes from forthcoming debut album Manners to Brighton for the first date of a co headlining tour with Portland four piece Hockey. The weight of expectation for this gig hanged hype heavy as Passion Pit have received significant media coverage in the last few months. The buzz can almost be heard through your internet connection such is their profile on many blogs, including right here at Breaking More Waves.

Michael Angelakos and his crew seem completely nonchalant about any such expectation however. “Is it OK if we play a few songs ?” he enquires to woops of appreciation, as if he has just stumbled on stage by accident. And so they do.

Initially technical difficulties thwart the bands sound, but song by song things get better, the bands signature distorted falsetto vocals, mashed up beats, and warped hyperventilating synthesisers combining to get Audio slowly grooving. The band show an adeptness at cajoling and wrestling imaginative sounds from their keyboards, finding a neat niche between dance music and warped pop. Visually they look a little like the lost cousins of Hot Chip, all masculine indie boffin coolness with heads bobbing and shoulders frugging, bringing an engaging energy to the stage.

There is no doubt that Passion Pit are a band that will find as many haters as lovers as the year goes on. Depending on which side of the fence you sit their sound is either absurdly wonderful or acutely annoying and it is Angelakos’s vocal that will divide the most. Despite an initial false start which Michael describes as “the club mix”, Sleepyhead is the biggest anthem of the evening but there are other newer songs that demonstrate that the Chunk of Change EP will not be the last we have heard of Passion Pit.

After Passion Pit it’s left to Hockey to wrap things up. Although most punters here have come for Passion Pit, they stick around to catch 'the other band'. Hockey are a strange group. At their best they are what would result if LCD Soundsystem strapped on a few more guitars and jammed with The Rapture. At their worst they are a terrible house funk band with a second division headband wearing Mick Jagger type camp singer who occasionally likes to attempt to embarrass the room by rapping. Future single Too Fake is sleazy, streetwise and what The Strokes should have done after their debut album. “I'm just too fake for the world. Oh you know it's just a game to me, I‘m just too fake you see” proclaims lead singer Ben over funky beats and adrenalin rush guitars. It’s their best moment by some way, although the catchy chorus of Song Away comes close.

Both Passion Pit and Hockey have potential to go on to bigger and better things than a small basement club such as Audio. Let’s watch this space.

Passion Pit - In The Studio

Passion Pit have nearly finished recording their debut album and soon the UK will get to catch one of Breaking More Waves new favourite bands when they head over to play some shows with Hockey. The band have been blogging their studio exploits here, with producer Chris Zane claiming that they are attempting to make it sound “Bigger or louder than the hype.” If Passion Pit get anywhere near this goal it could even exceed expectations. To understand just where the band are going, the video below from Fader shows the intentions of the band at work.

Ninety nine per cent of the time children on a rock, pop or dance record is a potential disaster waiting to happen, but judging from this clip, there are exceptions to the rule. For anyone who loves the Chunk of Change EP, the song shown here sounds like another funked up dose of electronic pop hooks in the head.

Passion Pit - Ones To Watch 2009

The off kilter swirling pop of Passion Pit has been the talk of the blogosphere for some months now. Breaking More Waves has been at it, raving about them at the start of November, and elsewhere somewhat exaggerated claims of them being the future of music have been heard. All this before they have released anything in the UK.

But times are about to change and now that the band have signed to Columbia it looks like the Chunk of Change EP is finally going to get an official release on these shores in February. Of course the EP has been on I Tunes for some time and has been blasting from the Breaking More Waves stereo, but the physical release will get their tunes out to UK radio and a wider audience.

The band also have a UK support slot with Black Kids on their NME Show at Koko, London in February and will be playing at the South By South West Festival in Austin Texas in March.

To follow up the EP, the band have been spending time in the studio recording their debut album which they are writing a blog about . If the results of these recordings are anything as good as the distorted falsetto vocals, delirious devilish samples and deranged tunes such as Sleepyhead, I’ve Got Your Number and Cuddle Fuddle from the EP, the album should be a trippy electronic extravaganza for those who enjoy the mixed up dance floor fun of The Avalanches and The Go Team as well as the vocal stylings of bands such as Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and MGMT.

Expect high larynx histrionics from Passion Pit in 2009. They will bring a lot of smiles, and if there is any justice Sleepyhead will be one of the songs of next year in the UK. We posted the video on our last blog about the band, but the video is so good we are posting it again here.

The Mummers vs Passion Pit

Two bands that have recently featured here at Breaking The Waves are the mutli layered orchestral harmonics of The Mummers from Brighton, UK and the mashed up madness of Passion Pit from Cambridge, USA. Both bands have the potential for commercial success and although they may not share musical similarities in their sound, they share similar visions; a production that is bold and adventurous, left of centre, but is still fundamentally accessible pop. At the moment however each band has a low profile in the UK. but next year this could change. I fancy an each way bet on Passion Pit to rise up and get people excited.

With Finger on the Pulse offering the song Sleepyhead from Passion Pit’s Chunk of Change Ep up for remix, The Mummers have just released their own version of the track via the internet. Not so much a remix, but a cover version combining with the original, it’s very good indeed. Raissa’s vocals intertwine with those of Michael Angelako’s whilst psychadellic grooves and symphonic brass collide. Spectacular - if only all pop music was like this. Have a listen at The Mummers Myspace whilst the track is still up there and see if you agree.

Passion Pit - New Waves @ Breaking More Waves

Passion Pit are the hottest but geekiest looking indie dance pop kids from Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA to come under the Breaking More Waves radar. Essentially the brain child of one Michael Angelakos they have so far released one single state side; The Chunk of Change EP. It conjures up memories of the mix tape mash up of The Avalanches, 8o’s electro synth and MGMT. Their sound is so now, so left field pop, so compact, that it may even be their undoing. A backlash may even start before they’ve had a good crack at it. Originally conceived as a late valentine present for his girlfriend, then distributed to friends and via Myspace, Michaels’ songs ended up being released by Frenchkiss, the people who put out Les Savy Fav, Cut Off Your Hands and The Hold Steady. From the minimalist electro pop of I’ve Got Your Number, to the multi coloured collage construction psychedelic pop of Better Things, Angelakos sings with a fey high pitch affected vocal that at first may annoy, but quickly becomes highly addictive. You can hear this best on Sleepyhead a song that features infectious swirling synths, helium backing vocals and a highly creative video (below) which goes back in time when pictures were fixed to a spinning device to create the illusion of movement. Watch and be confused and amazed.