They may say ‘Last one!’ before the final shout of ‘Ho! Hey!’, but despite that it’s pretty hard to resist hitting that Previous Track button time and time again. It’s easy to pigeonhole a lot of modern folk acts that try to capture an old-timey sense of musical euphoria, but The Lumineers resist this trap, whilst still incorporating plenty of joy and foot stomping inducing melodies into their music. They’re inevitably going to compared to the same slew of artists that any band of this nature is, but there seems to be something pretty special and unique that The Lumineers have going for them that not many others do. The record as a whole is still really enjoyable and surprisingly diverse given that it’s billed a pretty much a straight up alternative folk record.įor example Submarines is built around a pulsing keyboard riff rather than a banjo, acoustic guitar or foot stomping (even though I’m pretty sure there is a ‘baaa’ from a sheep in there at some point).
Whilst it’s yet to sway me to the belief that any other song the American band have written even comes close to that insanely upbeat and infectious song, it’s also clear that they’re far from one hit wonders. It’s up to you whether you want to just sit back and enjoy the sight or dive right in.Īfter having listened to Ho Hey something like fifty times I figured it was only fair to give the rest of The Lumineers’ self-titled debut album a shot as well. ‘Gossamer’ is a flowing river with a pristine surface but strong, treacherous, dark undercurrents. In fact ‘Gossamer’ as a whole only fades away a bit towards the end because Passion Pit try to do things a bit differently: there can be little doubt that their strength is still in dancefloor-filling, mosh-inducing electronic power pop numbers, but the likes of On My Way perhaps show that they’re capable of something more, even if they’re not quite there yet. Similarly I’ll Be Alright has lyrics that seem to suggest otherwise but yet still is energetic enough to the point where it wouldn’t have been entirely out of place on ‘Manners’. This is best illustrated by Take A Walk, the album’s first single and probably its most instantly catchy track, despite the fact that it’s about the current sorry American economy. The fact that the band have managed this level of lyrical and thematic depth without losing the instant gratification and sense of happiness that we all want from Passion Pit’s music is nothing short of extraordinary, and it’s that balancing act that makes this record so interesting. It can be a little off-putting and perhaps it’s even a bit more than some people wanted from a record that’s destined to be played loudly in clubs all over the world to those who want nothing more than a good beat.īut for those prepared to jump right into ‘Gossamer’ in all its surprising complexity and honesty, there’s a lot to be found here. The music is joyous, uplifting, hyper-energetic and exciting, but yet the lyrics are dark as hell, dealing with issues such as the current economic climate, depression, suicide, and alcoholism. But with ‘Gossamer’ it’s hard to avoid this comparison.
To say that Passion Pit’s music sometimes reflects lead singer Michael Angelakos’ bipolar disorder seems a little too easy and more than a bit insensitive.
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