Passion Pit singles never fail to inspire dancing, jumping and enjoyment through their catchy riffs and simple beats and this latest release certainly does not fail to comply. However, ‘I’ll Be Alright’ captures more than any other the dissimilarity between their music and lyrics and the contrast is huge. The noises are a barmy bombardment of unstoppable positivity, the kind quickly snapped up by any unsuspecting corporate advertiser; however the lyrics are filled with self-questioning, doubt, bitterness and manipulation, not exactly the inspiring words the next brand of car/alcohol/soap powder advertisers had hoped for. It is typically maximalist; overflowing with feeling, cheery-sounding backing vocals, and various synthetic bleeps all painfully obviously trying to hide the despondent, dejected lyrics of a young man in crisis, and as Michael Angelakos admitted in a recent interview with the Guardian, “I’m always in crisis. Always. Yeah that’s the problem.”
It is madness, it is self-loathing, and it is an epitome of musical contradiction which will undoubtedly leave me drunkenly crying hopelessly in the very near future, the only respite from which will come from the imminent release of Passion Pit’s second album Gossamer on July 24th.
‘I’ll Be Alright’ was released on Columbia Records on 12 June 2012.
Discover Passion Pit: Offical // Facebook // Myspace
By Caitlin Derham
Dance Yrself Clean
