Passion Pit Mind Their Manners
Boston band can’t stop, won’t stop
Hitting the big time in the music business is rather akin to winning the lottery – regardless of whether you struggle for years against the odds or hit it big after a one-off chance, it’s essentially a crapshoot of epic proportions. Boston band Passion Pit, then, can be considered one of the luckiest entrants in the industry, nailing a record deal and some big-name tours less than a year after their first proper recording, 2008’s EP Chunk of Change. Shot out onto the tour circuit as soon as they put the finishing touches on their debut LP, Passion Pit have had more than enough opportunities to put in the kind of work most bands take years to achieve.
“It’s been an absolutely crazy time,” bassist Jeff Apruzzese says while the band travels via bus through the cellular wasteland of Kansas. “We’ve been so lucky. Back when Chunk of Change was first released, no one thought we’d be granted these kind of opportunities.”
Indeed, few could have foreseen the rapid explosion in popularity in what started as a creative make-up letter. Singer and keyboardist Michael Angelakos wrote what would become Chunk of Change and most of Manners as a gift to his then-girlfriend as a sort of peacemaker back in April of 2007. It didn’t take him long to figure out that these weren’t just your regular love odes.
“Most of the material we play nowadays was originally just Michael and his laptop singing these Valentine’s Day tunes, performing in a very folklore sort of way,” Apruzzese explains. “Eventually he talked to Ian [Hultquist, guitarist] and that led to the rest of us signing on and soon [around May 2008] it was a full-blown group show.”
Soon after Chunk of Change was released, the hype machine really began to pick up steam. Massive buzz from the Boston music press, “up-and-coming” articles from the likes of MTV and the BBC, and the requisite thumbs-up from Pitchfork all contributed to a record deal and one of the most anticipated debuts of the year in Manners. Unlike so many blogosphere sensations that came before them, however, Passion Pit didn’t disappoint. Manners was well received by the critics, from Paste magazine to Rolling Stone, and charted reasonably well for an independent release, especially overseas. It’s dreamy electro-pop, heavily buttressed by an array of synthesizers and highlighted by Angelako’s falsetto tones, was the perfect summer album for many. Mixing a well-disguised appreciation for mainstream pop melodies with a vibrant electronica flavor and a heavy debt to the ‘80s, Manners comes off sort of like an MGMT on steroids, a sparkling indie pop factory. Of course, Passion Pit was already well on the way to cementing their remarkable live show literally moments after finishing with Manners. “The day after we laid down the final vocal tracks in the studio, we were out on the road starting the tour,” Apruzzese says. “It was more difficult than I think most bands experience, because while we were recording Manners and before we went out on the road we had to spend a few months turning what was pretty much a solo effort into a five-part band show. And it took an additional five weeks to incorporate it into the live show.”
“When we first went out on the road, we were playing 35, 40 minute sets, because we only had about seven or so songs all down,” Apruzzese says. “We were still learning to play everything, and we were headlining shows! It was definitely rough for a little while,” Apruzzese says, laughing.
Something clicked, however, and Passion Pit was soon receiving rave reviews from across the country for their lively concerts. They have already toured with such indie stalwarts as Death Cab for Cutie, Girl Talk, and Franz Ferdinand, as well as prominent festival appearances at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza this summer. Their own headlining tour that is set to end in Tokyo next February has already sold out a number of dates, including the Henry Fonda in Los Angeles. The abrupt rush of fame and media exposure has not been lost on the band, however.
“Just a couple weeks ago I was eating ice cream outside a café in Northampton [Massachusetts], and Thurston Moore [of noise-rock pioneers Sonic Youth] sat down next to me. I almost shat myself,” Apruzzese says. “Just to have these huge influences talk to us and tell us how they like our music, it’s crazy. I mean, Bruce Springsteen watched our show at Glastonbury [Festival, in England], and enjoyed it! That’s ridiculous.”
Now on the West Coast leg of their tour, Passion Pit have a long way to go before they can finally reap the benefits of their rigorous touring schedule, but the band remains committed to continuing to build up their group rapport and continue spreading their accessible brand of oddball pop. A thoroughly modern band, Passion Pit has repeatedly used iTunes and other online retailers to promote their music and release bonus tracks. After all, it’s the blogosphere that is largely responsible for their success.
“Internet has taken a hold of music,” Apruzzese says. “It’s had a huge impact on the response of our band – on the Internet you can develop an instant connection. It’s so easy for people to put music out there, and with Chunk of Change and before Manners it was all Internet buzz. I miss going to a record store and blowing all my money and just spending the day listening to a new record, but at the same time, we’re now playing clubs in the Midwest that we’ve never been to before and selling them out.”
And for good reason. Passion Pit has already proven they’re not just another blogger flavor of the month, showing a verve for relentless touring and an irresistible urge to entertain. Of course, it helps that the material on Manners has already made it a strong candidate for debut of the year. Combine that with a band that seems to have an infinite reserve of energy, and you have a force to be reckoned with. “It’s been pretty exhausting,” Apruzzese says, “but we are all loving it. It’s been a great year, and we’re definitely not slowing down anytime soon.”
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