Passion Pit – The Reeling

This time a year ago, Passion Pit were on very few people’s radars. That altered with the Chunk of Change EP, half an hour of cute, vibrant electro-pop. They even came ready-packaged with their own convenient little piece of indie mythology, that the EP was originally recorded by the band’s mainstay Michael Angelakos as a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend.

After the success of the EP, and the credibility-sapping seals of approval it generated (BBC Sound of 2009, anyone?) the threat of the seemingly inevitable backlash has been drawing ever nearer. Well, with ‘The Reeling’, the first single off their debut album (Manners, due out here on May 26th), Passion Pit haven’t given the indie community too much cause to sharpen the knives just yet.

It’s a solid effort, and a promising taster for the album. Stylistically, it’s not drastically different to the songs on the EP. All the band’s endearing characteristics are on display. The track shows the inventiveness we saw on the EP, the warm electro textures and Angelakos’ distinctive shrill vocals. It’s driven on by a harder beat than we’ve heard from them before, and the “oh no” hooks create the same sense of euphoria which infuses the EP.

One minor gripe about the song is its production. Chunk of Change is by no means a lo-fi recording, but ‘The Reeling’ is definitely a good deal shinier. This time out they managed to land just the right side of over-produced, but it’s a fine line, and Passion Pit will need to be wary of falling into the trap in future.

For now though, ‘The Reeling’ will hold us just fine. It’s a strong single, which shows signs of progression. It may be a little less urgent than most of Chunk of Change, but it’s likeability increases with each listen, and it’s done the job of whetting our appetites for the album.