ALBUM: Passion Pit 'Kindred' - GigslutzGigslutz

Rating:

With his distinctive falsetto vocals and sugar sweet synth melodies, Michael Angelakos wears a pretty good poker face when it comes to portraying the narrative behind his music. Having battled with bipolar disorder over the course of last album, Gossamer, he shows us the light at the end of the tunnel in third album, Kindred, giving himself a channel for his DIY therapy sessions, and us the dose of Passion Pit E numbers we have craved in his absence.

Kindred is an album of honesty, self-assurance and progress. Angelakos opens with a triumphant ‘Lifted Up (1985)’ written about his wife and long time girlfriend. Along with second track, ‘Whole Life Story’, both songs focus on his appreciation for her, whether he is appologising for his emotional state of mind, or just thanking her for her continued support.

His vocals seem to take a step forward on the majority of the album, which allows you to focus more on his message, as apposed to the sometimes stifling layers of synthesizer that usually dominate. Mellower tracks such as ‘Where The Sky Hangs’, ‘Dancing On The Grave’ and ‘Looks Like Rain’ strip it back completely, allowing us a bit of down time from our sugar rush synth high.

The album ends on ‘Ten Feet Tall (II)’, a toned down version of predecessor ‘Five Foot Ten (I)’, where his auto tuned vocals are vamped up, but synths are kept to a minimum: “It’s all I’ve ever known, its everything I’ve owned”. Even though he has mellowed out somewhat on this album, Angelakos has continued to platform the unmistakable Passion Pit sound. Remarkable still is that these rainbow coloured compositions come from him alone.

All three Passion Pit albums show a different side of Angelakos. Although Kindred may not be as successful as his previous material, it shows that he is in a more positive place with a willingness to keep producing feel good music. As they say, when life gives you lemons, make super sweet synth pop music.

Kindred is out now via Columbia Records.