Boston's Passion Pit Make Dance-Floor Jams, But Take Musical Cues From Randy Newman

Talk About the Passion Pit
The newest dance-floor craze count Brian Wilson and Randy Newman among their influences

ItNs tempting to imagine Passion Pit as the subject of a Hollywood pitch meeting: “They look like Vampire Weekend, they sound like MGMT, and you can even dance to them!”

The Boston band have been getting mired in buzz since last yearNs Chunk of Change EP, and with their debut full-length, Manners, just out on Frenchkiss in the States and Columbia in the rest of the world, thereNs no reason Passion Pit shouldnNt be ubiquitous by yearNs end. But that doesnNt mean these college-age fellows are biting their nails in anticipation.

“WeNve been conscious of the buzz because everyone keeps asking us about it,” says synth/sampler player Ayad al Adhamy by phone as he boards a boat for Passion PitNs New York release party. “But itNs been good. ItNs not giving us any pressure. ItNs like, ‘Now we can do something, and itNs going to be legit.N”

The bandNs overnight appeal is easy to grasp after a single taste of Manners, a glittery mingling of taut pop, erupting electronics, disco-worthy falsetto and emotionally frank subject matter. ItNs largely the work of Michael Angelakos, who reluctantly built a live band around the whooshing dance pop heNd been crafting on his own. An admitted fan of both Brian Wilson (thus the heavenly vocals and incurable melancholy) and Randy Newman (ditto the bouncy keys and pointed lyrics), Angelakos has been writing songs since age 5, jumping genres and juggling instruments over the years.

Pressured by his friend Ian Hultquist, Angelakos put together Passion Pit, who now include al Adhamy, Hultquist on synths, Jeff Apruzzese on bass and synths, and Nate Donmoyer on drums.

“None of us actually played keyboards as our main instrument,” recalls al Adhamy. “WeNre all guitar players. We were like, ‘Fuck it, INm bored with guitars. LetNs play keyboards.N We practiced for three months and had our first show at MichaelNs college. It was really fun, [so we decided] to keep on doing it.”

He notes that while Angelakos wrote and recorded Chunk of Change and most of Manners himself, the other players “put our own personalities into it” when taking the songs on the road. Al Adhamy also says Manners isnNt a departure from the hotly tipped EP, which featured the breakthrough blog track “Sleepyhead,” but rather a more evolved extension of it. HeNs right: The spirit is very much the same, although Chunk of Change feels slightly more crunchy and introverted by comparison.

“TheyNre both Passion Pit,” he quips. “The main difference is the resources available. Michael recorded a lot of [Chunk of ChangeNs] vocals through a laptop mic, so itNs pretty primitive. Now that we have a label involved, he has a recording studio and a wealth of gear. So it sounds bigger and more delicate. ItNs pretty similar, but a year and a half apart. ItNs like seeing someone after not seeing them for a while: [TheyNre] more mature and older.”

Al Adhamy cites the bandNs dual relationship with the revered indie label Frenchkiss and inveterate major Columbia as “this really nice marriage,” and he credits blogs for running with “Sleepyhead,” positioning Passion Pit as the next Vampire Weekend. Built on stuttered, sped-up vocal samples and AngelakosN yearning yelp, “Sleepyhead” elicits the same sort of instant goose bumps as “Crazy,” “D.A.N.C.E.” and other eerily viral hits of the past few years. ItNs also included on Manners, though the albumNs first single is the more upbeat, electronic “The Reeling.”

“Whether ‘SleepyheadN will be a single, INm not sure anyone has decided yet,” says al Adhamy, adding that “The Reeling” is not his favorite song. Still, he notes, “When we played it for the first time [recently], it got a fucking awesome reception, and that invigorated us a bit more.” His favorites are the more pop-based “Let Your Love Grow Tall” and the glitzy sing-along “Little Secrets.” Individual flavor aside, each song is insidiously catchy and just as likely to spark a worldwide love-in as an inevitable backlash. And yet Passion PitNs sunny, jittery sound is balanced always by AngelakosN raw, vulnerable lyrics.

“I think that helps a lot,” al Adhamy says. “If youNre going to be sugary bubblegum pop, youNll appeal to a lot of people quickly, but if itNs poppy with a darker undertone, youNre putting yourself into it [more]. Michael definitely puts a lot of himself into it when he writes lyrics. It helps people relate to it more. If people can relate and still feel good listening to it, I think thatNs a good thing.”

Passion Pit with Harlem Shakes and Cale Parks at the Glass House, 200 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 865-3802; www.theglasshouse.us. Sat., 7 p.m. $12. All ages.