Passion Pit

Straight out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, these guys have exploded in the music scene lately. Their sound is electronic, but very unique. I love Passion Pit, and after discovering them about a year ago I wanted to share my love with you (as I always do).

Passion Pit consists of 5 members: Michael Angelakos (vocals, keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards, guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synthesizers, samplers), Jeff Apruzzese (bass, synthesizers) and Nathan Donmoyer on drums. All of the members except Angelakos attended Berklee College of Music.

The name “Passion Pit” came from the Variety Slanguage Dictionary, which is essentially a glossary of frequently used slang words. The name came from a description of a drive-in movie theatre, because of it's privacy for young lovers. And so, Passion Pit was born...(insert dramatic music here)

Michael Angelakos did some work on his own, his first album being Chunk of Change , which was meant to be a Valentines Day present for his girlfriend at the time. It wasn't until Ian Hultquist approached him and expressed his interest in collaborating with him that they decided to create a real band. Shortly after, Al Adhamy, Apruzzese and Donmoyer joined (replacing original members Thom Plasse and Adam Lavinsky).

Chunk of Change was officially released in September of 2008, and in 2009 the world welcomed Manners , the bands first full length album. Included in the album was first hit "Little Secrets" along with "The Reeling" and "Sleepyhead" from the Chunk of Change album. On the deluxe edition of this album, there is also "Dreams", a cover of the original version done by the Cranberries.

A new album will hopefully hit the stores sometime this year (2011).

About the guys? I love their style. It's precise and the lyrics can be very sarcastic, which I love. If I can listen to a song with happy lyrics, but still hear the anger in the singers voice, I'm sold. In an interview with the band, other members said that Michael Angelakos "hears music in his head and knows exactly how he wants it to sound." Ironically, the man who didn't go to Berklee has the clearest idea of the music he wants, and he has been taking his "perfectionist pop vision to a whole new level in concert."

I love Passion Pit, for their style, their music, but most importantly, their message. I love their creativity, and their forever-burning strive to do more and do it better than anyone else. And for that, I salute them.

I hope you enjoyed my "passionate" rant (I know, the joke was awful). Feel free to tell me what you think of it, and the band as well!

As always, God bless.