Album Review: Passion Pit - Gossamer

Gossamer is the long-awaited second outing for hyper-pop electronic group, Passion Pit. After the wildly successful breakthrough Manners, Passion Pit try and occasionally exceed the magic contained within their acclaimed debut.

Opener Take A Walk begins with an upbeat spaced-out intro that sounds like it was almost lifted from Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots before transforming into the familiar stomping drumbeat and jangle synth in an inevitable build up to frontman Michael Angelakos' trademark falsetto wailings. Lyrically, the album's also matured as playful ditties to impress girls evolve into themes of having a wife, depression and wealth. Second single I'll Be Alright is bound to be a summer festival fave amongst fans, it's catchy and lures you in with upbeat hooks and the little quirks which made the band interesting in the first place.

Constant Conversations is one of the more interesting tracks with a laid back R'n'B type groove with harmonies and synth noodling laying low. Mirrored Sea feels like the 'rock' track on the album with a more ambient, darker feel before turning into dancefloor fodder. Cry Like A Ghost is DJ Shadow-meets-Michael Jackson with what's hopefully a theremin creating a dense atmosphere that sucks you in and spits you back out on a New York street. Not without fault, Carried Away appears a tad too early on the album losing the vibe created earlier and sounding too clichéd '80's.

Sophomore releases like this are about recreating the atmosphere created on the first effort whilst pushing the limits on what made it great. Gossamer does so on many of the tracks and shines a whole new light onto the group for the listener.