Ever sat outside on a beautiful day, unable to find the perfect music to match your current state of euphoria? Luckily for you, Passion Pit’s first EP, “Chunk of Change,” knows the exact combination of musical free-spiritedness to play as mental background music on your soundtrack to life. The EP was released in September, and has given fans an intimate preview to their full-length album “Manners,” which is set to release May 19.
The dominant claps, beeps, off-balanced rhythms and dings relax your mind while putting it into a happy little trance. The fourth song off of “Chunk of Change” titled “Live to Tell the Tale,” mixes electronic and computerized sounds with a soothing wind-chime-like beat.
Listen to it in a happy mood or listen to in a sad mood … any way you listen to it is the right way. The lyrics, “God bless that smile on your face, God bless the seeds on the ground … ” make it impossible to be in an upset mood. Just try, and fail miserably. You’ll swear you’re in some kind of dream world where everything is absolutely perfect.
The sixth track, “Sleepyhead,” has somewhat of a dizzying effect. You may be taken back at the first couple listens, but give it a third try and everything you missed during the first go-around will come rushing towards you. Suddenly you’re hooked and it’s a beautiful feeling.
The song starts off with a quiet voice saying “and everything is going to the beat … ” then immediately scrambles into a musical frenzy. Imagine being on a tilt-o-whirl ride at a carnival and envision how your surroundings melt into each other post ride – that’s the only way to describe how your ears will feel. It whooshes by so fast that you can’t grasp what is really happening until everything is over. Then you try it again and it’s just as thrilling, if not better.
The heartfelt lyrics throughout the EP, mixed with the bouncing beats, can be compared to the Postal Service with a little more pizzazz. If the Postal Service and MGMT decided to get together and produce a musical offspring and give it the stepsibling of Hot Chip, it would be the quirky clan of Passion Pit.
Bands everywhere have tried the electro-alternative style ever since MGMT’s incredible skyrocket to fame at Austin City Limits last year. Passion Pit tried it and found its own niche in the electronic world, and we can all be so thankful they did.
Each song sounds different every time you listen to it. Sounds pop out that weren’t obvious at other times. It keeps the ear guessing and craving more. The entire EP transitions smoothly to the next song, making it hard to decipher where one song ends and the next begins. Some artists try this technique and aren’t able to pull it off – Passion Pit does.
A majority of the same sounds are used in multiple songs, but there’s no complaint here. If someone with an untrained electro-ear were to listen, he or she may think every song sounds exactly the same. Give it to someone who lives and breathes this stuff and they’ll have the smile of a child on Christmas morning.
If you listen to electronic music then you have probably already tried and loved Passion Pit. They aren’t ahead of their time. Instead, they’ve made carefree, yet bold, music at the right time. This is exactly what people have been looking for and missing out on.
Passion Pit, originally from Cambridge, MA, has not been around long, but will soon be hitting some big cities. They start touring along the Europe circuit in early May, before venturing into the states – making an appearance at Dallas’ Granada Theater on June 2.
“And everything is going to the beat … ” so put on some headphones, give them a listen, and dance to Passion Pit’s beat.
