Rob's Album of The Week: Passion Pit's Gossamer

Rising to prominence after taking the world by storm with their amazing debut album Manners and the hit single "The Reeling", Cambridge, MA indie-synthpoppers Passion Pit are back with their highly anticipated second album, Gossamer, and it sounds like the talented quartet hasn't missed a beat. The band's first release since being signed to major label Columbia Records keeps their dancy, rhythmic brand of pop intact with tracks that are guaranteed to make you cut a rug and boogie like there's no tomorrow. A beautifully fantastic piece of music that promises to take your mind to another world and put you into a audacious trance, when it comes to music of Passion Pit there's no such thing as a sophomore slump.

Passion Pit is made up of Michael Angelakos on lead vocals and keys, Ian Hultquist on keys and guitar, Jeff Apruzzese on bass and synthesizer and Nate Donmoyer on drums. Forming out of a bunch of songs Angelakos wrote as a belated Valentine's Day gift for his then-girlfriend and originally being a solo project of Angelakos where he performed using a laptop, Hultquist approached Angelakos after a show in Boston about collaborating and the rest is history. Other than Angelakos, the members of the band attended the illustrious Berklee College of Music in Boston where they studied and honed their craft. The excellence of each song on Gossamer definitely shows what a school like Berklee can do for a musician's skills and abilities, simply fantastic stuff.


-Robert Duguay

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It's always difficult dissecting an album to it's bare bones and picking the tracks that catch your ear, especially when it's a masterpiece like Gossamer, but I'll give it my best shot. "Take A Walk" is the lead single off of the new record, with pounding drums, smooth beats and rhythmic beauty coming from all angles that's purely infectious. "I'll Be Alright" starts off bouncing all over the place like fireworks on the 4th of July, with the synth and drums syncopating to make it sound like your eardrums are getting an electronic massage. "Constant Conversations" is filled with Marvin Gaye-esque R & B styles that just make you want to get close to the one you love and let the sparks fly. "Cry Like A Ghost" is a love song about a girl named Sylvia who Angelakos met at a bar while he was inebriated that tells a story about how that particular evening went, it reminds of those 80's new wave ballads but a whole lot better. "Love Is Greed" is a bass-filled track that examines the selfishness of love, how a lot of people use it for their own gain. So those are a few songs I like a lot from Passion Pit's new album, but don't just sit there and take my word for it. Get up off your ass, grab a copy of the album and listen in for yourself.

Due to Angelakos' mental health, Passion Pit will be beginning a tour of The United States, Canada, Japan and Australia later than scheduled at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 2nd & 3rd and ending it at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA on November 6th. Most of the dates in the U.S. of A. will be either on the West Coast, the Southeast or the Midwest so unfortunately us New England music fanatics won't be able to see Passion Pit in our neck of the woods. Keep in mind, these guys are from New England so it shouldn't be long until they play around here again. While you wait for Passion Pit to grace your favorite local music venue, grab a copy of Gossamer. It's a jaw-dropping opus that shouldn't be ignored.