Passion Pit - A Tremendous Sea of Love

Passion Pit is a band that I once seriously loved.  When I first heard their 2009 debut album, "Manners", I fell in love with everything about this band.  The hooks here were sweet, the grooves were steady, and Michael Angelakos's soaring vocals were stunning.  For the most part, there really weren't any tracks on this one at all that I felt like I didn't like.  In 2012, Passion Pit followed that up with their "Gossamer" album.  This album was certainly bigger and flashier, with some super slick production as well as some big atmospheres.  But I feel like the tracks to me while they were still super catchy, weren't standing out to me as much.  I thought that on their debut they had such a unique sound, but here they were sounding like literally every other Synth Pop band. And then we have 2015's "Kindred", and I seriously have no clue what went on here.  These were a collection of the blandest, uninspired Passion Pit tracks yet.  Like, at least "Gossamer" had some singles I enjoyed, "Kindred" was just awful. So that being said, I wasn't TOO pumped for this new Passion Pit album. However, I have heard some pretty great things about it, so I decided to check it out.  And yes, I'm aware that technically this album came out months ago.  But I missed it, and I figured that its commercial release would be as good a time as any to revisit this.

(This one takes me back)

This album starts off with “Moonbeam”, and to be honest, as far as a sweet and ambient intro goes, I actually really dig this.  Passion Pit have always sort of worked with this very positive, happy sound.  But here, it’s in full effect, with some bulkier production.  Now, a lot of people have been sort of knocking on the production, claiming that it’s rushed sounding.  But for Michael Angelakos’s handy work, this really isn't that bad.  Plus it sets the very sugary tone of this album.  Then we have “Somewhere Up There”, and from these opening tracks, it’s clear that we’re dealing with some of the most adventurous and bouncy tracks that Passion Pit have touched recently.  I think that it really comes off well for the band actually.  I mean, we’re only a few minutes into the album and I can already remember more about this album than “Kindred”.  I love just how beefy some of these synths come off, and some of Michael Angelakos’s gigantic high notes might be some of the strongest I’ve ever heard from him.  Not to mention, some of the more progressive elements here are seriously adventurous and interesting.  For example, the beat switch-up before the slower passage actually comes off really nicely.  “Somewhere Up There” is actually one of the more epic synth pop tunes I’ve heard in recent memory.  And while that spoken word passage is a bit too much for me, I can’t take anything away from this.   The very big and bold sounds of this album continue onto “Hey K”.  But man, as far as a slow jam goes, this is actually seriously awesome.  It’s sweet, it’s sentimental, and Michael Angelakos sounds absolutely soulful.  I love the very smooth groove and the gigantic sound to all of these instrumentals.  I certainly get how some people wouldn't be nearly as into the instrumentals as production as I am  But for me, this is a very sleek new direction for Passion Pit.  And if Michael Angelakos really buffed out some of these minor kinks, this can be a seriously massive sound for Passion Pit in the future.  I also continue to love just how adventurous some of these tracks have been coming off as.  It’s a far cry from just how straightforward their last two albums have come off but that’s why I’m digging it.  But then I hear “To The Other Side”, and instantly I do sort of get a little bit more of what people aren’t digging about this production.  I see what Passion Pit were going for with this, but Michael Angelakos’s production here just doesn’t come off nearly as grand or interesting.  Sadly, a lot of elements about this track fall short.  The verses here don’t come off nearly as sentimental and sweet as you think it would.  Not to mention, some of the instrumentals are just sloppy and mixed poorly.  Outside of that, there isn’t anything truly horrible about this track.  “To The Other Side” is just painfully “ok”.  However, I do like some of the very 80’s tinged synths.  

    Thankfully, the album’s title track “Tremendous Sea Of Love” brings back the very spacious and grand sounds that we saw earlier.  To be honest, for ambient passages, I really think Passion Pit is really onto something that’s special.  This track is seriously icy, and sounds so isolated.  Honestly, I know ambient producers that haven’t made such lonely sounding instrumental music lately.  Quite frankly, this track is stunning.  And once again, I really love how heavy the production here is once again, and I’m impressed with just how patient this is.  Next up is “I’m Perfect”, which honestly took some time to grow on me.  Let’s be honest, this is just about the most Pop oriented track here, and it’s almost to a fault.   This for years was the sort of sugary and cheerful Passion Pit track that made me head for the hills.  But with some of this heavier production, I feel like this track has just enough of a bite.  Not to mention, this hook here is easily the catchiest Michael Angelakos has written since “Manners”.  For a Pop tune, man does this ever stick with you.  Then we have “You Have the Right”, and for a slow jam, this doesn’t come off nearly as great as some of the earlier attempts here.  To me, this doesn’t even sound like a damn Passion Pit tune.  I’m not sure what Michael Angelakos was even thinking when he wrote this track.  Not to mention, the production here isn’t cutting it at all.  Even lyrically, this one has been done so much better by other artists.  Hell, this track has been done better by Passion Pit ON THIS ALBUM.  Now, there are some sweet vocals and all here from Michael, but to be honest, this one is just so boring to me.  For a slow jam, Passion Pit have proven they can do so much better.   Then we have “Inner Dialogue” with it’s almost booming beat and tinny drums which is doing even less for me.  Overall, this one is just the sort of completely unfocused and busy Indie Pop tune that plagued the band’s last two albums.  There’s so many different instrumentals going on here, but they’re all clashing in this ridiculously muddy fashion.  I’ll be honest, I couldn't take a single thing away from this track.  It’s not catchy, it’s barely even sweet, it’s just sloppy.  

    “Undertow” thankfully is a HUGE step forward for Passion Pit.  I actually really dig the sort of retro tinge that they’re going for here with all of these throwback sounding synths.  To be honest, it's something that I really wish I could hear more from them in the future.  Michael Angelakos sounds so much more sweet and sentimental in his performance here, and while the production is still a little off kilter, this is still damn good.  The very adventurous and progressive elements are back once again.  Hearing tracks like this actually, gives me a ton of hope for the future of Passion Pit.  This album ends off with “For Sondra (It Means The World To Me)”.  This one is clearly going for the much more atmospheric sound that they were going for earlier.  But for me, the production on this one just really doesn’t click with me.  It’s going for a super retro sound once again.  But it’s actually a little too much on this track.  The instrumental is nice and all, but there are just so many effects slathered on top that it’s just sort of too much.  While the production is questionable, there are a bunch of really stunning bits, making for a decent finale.  

Rating: 7.2/10

Give A Listen To:  “Somewhere Up There”, “Hey K”, “Tremendous Sea of Love”, “I’m Perfect”

Overall Thoughts:  Now, there are certainly some sloppy moments on here, and this is still far from the album that I wanted to hear from Passion Pit.  But my gosh, this is easily the best thing they've done since "Manners".  Some of the ambient passages here are seriously stunning, and Michael Angelakos can still write a hook damnit.  If they iron out some of the minor kinks, Passion Pit can make some seriously unforgettable music again.