Album review: Passion Pit - Manners (4/5)

At some point, indie bands are going to get tired drawing inspiration from '80s new wave and synth pop and move on. Until then, we get albums like Manners, the debut from American group Passion Pit, one of this year's moved buzzed about "new" acts. They've been compared to many other such bands, most frequently MGMT, whose nutty Oracular Spectacular was one of last year's surprise hits. Manners is care-free, upbeat, frothy indie pop--at least on the surface.

"Make Light" bumps along with warm synth riffs and effects and lead singer Michael Angelakos's characteristic falsetto. "Little Secrets" is similarly upbeat, but graced with a sharper bassline, a better beat, and a children's choir. "Moth's Wings" borrows a little U2-esque grandeur, breaking out with acoustic instruments and than big synth-piano chords. While musically these songs sound like sunny optimism, the lyrics (which are quite frankly confounding) consist of things like "the walls came crumbling, my fists kept trembling with these salty wounds...Your flowers are withering, Your mother's gone insane."

"The Reeling," released as a single, is particularly good, dance-party-ready pop. Just don't focus too hard on its gloomy message ("now i pray that somebody will quickly come and kidnap me
--oh no, oh no--and everyday i lie awake and pray to god today's the day--oh no, oh no").

The band's sound includes a fair amount of diversity. "Eyes as Candies" is softer and very very '80s-sounding. "Swimming in the Flood" slows the tempo down and embodies a darker sound. It has a great repeating piano line. "Folds in Your Hands" picks up the beats and bleeps, angling for the dance floor. "To Kingdom Come" is more '80s rock-sounding, with guitar, drums, horns and a chorus begging for sing-along. Any of these songs could probably be singles.

The album loses momentum a bit at the end. "Sleepyhead" was the group's first hit, from their "Chunk of Change" EP. It's a very weird song, and while it has a cool video, the ultra-distorted vocals and lack of a strong melodic hook don't do it for me. "Let Your Love Tail Grow" is a bit cutesy, but not bad. "Seaweed Song" is unremarkable.

Although the songs tend to blend together after awhile, the good sense of melody and upbeat fun make this a strong record for repeat listens, for there are no bad eggs in this batch. It's certainly better than Empire of the Sun's debut, which was crafted in a similar vein, but whose bland melodies didn't live up to its campy promise.

Best: The Reeling, Little Secret, Make Light, Swimming in the Flood, Moth's Wings, To Kingdom Come