Passion Pit - Gossamer

Released: 24^th July 2012

Label: Columbia Records

Three years ago, American electro pop band Passion Pit grew to fame with debut full length Manners. They managed to create extremely happy sounding instrumentations with the help of their trademark synthesisers, keyboards and chipmunk-like falsetto of frontman Michael Angelakos. This sound also produced a lot of hits for Passion Pit, including Sleepyhead from the band’s debut EP, which meant that Passion Pit were essentially on the brink of becoming a full blown success worldwide.

The past three years however have not been good for the five-piece, especially for Angelakos. He has been struggling to control his bi-polar disorder and has spent a lot of time in the hospital due to suicide attempts, only managing to be saved by his fiancée.

Fortunately despite the ongoing battle with the demons in his head, Angelakos has been able to produce a very assured listen in Gossamer, the highly anticipated sophomore album by Passion Pit. The chirpy instrumentations are definitely here, packed full with layers upon layers of vintage Passion Pit-synthesisers.

Everything about this new album is the complete opposite to Angelakos last few years. It sounds so happy and carefree, the ideal album for the summer. The extremely good production allows the bright, vibrant sounds to be heard as cleanly as possible, creating one of the most colourful and fulfilling listening experiences of the year.