Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos is an intriguing fellow. When not acting like his unlikely success is something of a burden (Passion Pit began life as a makeshift set of songs to appease an angry girlfriend in the wake of a forgotten Valentine’s Day – rookie mistake, buddy), the 25-year-old has been known to bemoan fans for daring to come to his shows and enjoy themselves. It seems Angelakos graduated with honours from the Foster The People school of dressing up darkness with relentless, uptempo pop.
Sure enough, Gossamer is light as a feather on the surface, bursting with colour, practically begging you to provide backing vocals; and yet, there is a deep melancholy to the lyrics. Given their chief songwriter’s public battles with manic depression, this is no great surprise, but it remains a curious balancing act, tackling personal demons with such musical vibrancy. Opener ‘Take A Walk’, an ode to the importance of taking a breather from the stresses of life, sets the tone with playful synth swirls and a shout-a-long chorus that serve to disguise the contemplative subject matter. ‘I’ll Be Alright’ and ‘Carried Away’ are cut from the same cloth, frenetic and catchy, but laced with insecurity and pain.
It would be a shame if Angelakos were to abandon his flair for hooks and melodies but by unleashing a flurry of foot-stompers (‘Mirrored Sea’ alone could provide the soundtrack to a frenzied coin-op arcade beat-‘em-up), there isn’t always the incentive to decipher the words. To his credit, nothing on Gossamer feels phoned in. ‘Constant Conversations’ in particular catches Angelakos mocking social conventions, but ultimately taking aim at his own failings.
The dual coda of ‘It’s Not My Fault, I’m Happy’ and ‘Where We Belong’ offers, finally, immediate access to Passion Pit’s troubled frontman’s psyche. The latter is especially devastating, suggesting that while Angelakos may well believe in a light at the end of the tunnel, he’s not entirely sure that he deserves to catch a glimpse of it.