Cambridge, MA · indie pop · synth-pop

Passion Pit

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Michael Angelakos's falsetto over maximalist synth-pop — euphoric music about genuinely difficult things, 'Sleepyhead' still a serotonin spike.

Passion Pit's name comes from an old Variety Slanguage Dictionary entry, a glossary of industry slang in which the magazine used the term to describe drive-in theatres and their appeal to teenagers. Michael Angelakos borrowed it for the bedroom recordings he made at Emerson College as a belated Valentine's gift, recordings that later became the band's first release.

After a solo show in Boston, Berklee student Ian Hultquist approached Angelakos about collaborating, and the two built a full band with Ayad Al Adhamy, Thom Plasse and Adam Lavinsky. The home recordings became the 2008 EP Chunk of Change, its first four songs written for the girlfriend gift and two more, including "Sleepyhead," added for release.

"Sleepyhead" sampled the Irish song "Óró Mo Bháidín," sung by harpist Mary O'Hara, and turned up in advertising campaigns and on Pitchfork's list of the year's best videos. The band signed to Frenchkiss Records in 2008, with Jeff Apruzzese and Nate Donmoyer soon joining on bass and drums.

The debut album Manners followed in 2009, with Gossamer in 2012 debuting at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's first top ten album, and Kindred in 2015. A fourth record, Tremendous Sea of Love, was self-released in 2017.

The sound pairs dense layers of synthesisers, sampled vocals and pop hooks with Angelakos's high, strained falsetto, heard on songs such as "Sleepyhead," "Little Secrets" and "Take a Walk." Angelakos has spoken publicly about living with bipolar disorder and has worked on mental health advocacy within the music industry.

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indie popsynth-pop