(photo: Elizabeth Weinberg)

I’m a little hesitant about this post today, because my experience with white-boy indie dance pop in the last few years has been a bit spotty.  After an initial rush if enthusiasm and mania, I lose interest in these hybrid bands pretty quickly.  You can understand why, then, I’d be a bit leery of telling you just how much I am enjoying Manners, the debut album from Cambridge, Massachusetts band Passion Pit, for fear that within a few weeks, I’ll be cringing with embarrassment and asking myself, “Jimbo, what were you thinking?”

By all rights, what I was/am thinking is that Passion Pit has what it takes to go beyond just being a band that gets pigeon-holed by their particular genre.  Yeah, it’s music you can dance to, yeah it’s pop music, too, but you don’t have to be a fan of either to appreciate their sparkling compositions and addictive melodies.  Songs like “Seaweed Song” aren’t stacked with cookie-cutter melody hooks, and therefore don’t have that instantly recognizable quality; Manners sounds like its made with the same instruments used on your favourite synth pop albums from the 80s, but in new, bold and exciting ways.  These are definitely 21st century songs masquerading in 20th century costumes.

“Sleepyhead” was the song that made them Myspace darlings, but Passion Pit aren’t resting on their former glories.  It’s hidden down as the ninth of the album’s 11 tracks, allowing some newer material to take the spotlight.  “Little Secrets” employs a children’s chorus to take it’s thumping  rhythm “higher and higher”, “Make Light” bristles with pop energy.  In lesser hands it could all get to be a little much, but Passion Pit somehow manage to keep the party going from start to finish.  With summer fast approaching, Manners is definitely one album that I’ll be blasting from the car stereo with the top down and the wind in my hair.  Time will tell if the joy and exuberance eventually wear off, but I have a feeling that by that point, Passion Pit will be back with something new for me to get excited about all over again.

MP3: Passion Pit “Sleepyhead”
Myspace: Passion Pit
Buy: Passion Pit Manners