If you have never heard ‘Sleepyhead’ by Passion Pit, stop reading this right now, slap yourself, scroll down and CRANK your speakers.

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Now that we’re all caught up let’s get to it. Passion Pit first caught my attention sometime last year with the above mentioned ‘Sleepyhead’. To say I’ve listened to that song a lot would be a wild understatement – in fact it’s been over six months since I first heard it and I still don’t give it the fast forward treatment when it makes a playlist appearance. But let’s back up for a hot second shall we. Passion Pit all began when Emerson College student/singer/songwriter Michael Angelakos recorded a six song mixtape (now known as the Chunk of Change EP) for his girlfriend as a Valentine’s Day gift in ‘07. On the strength of ‘Sleepyhead’ said mixtape made the rounds at Emerson, made its way to the internet, and quickly catapulted Passion Pit to the top of the insatiable indie music hype machine. Wowza, not too shabby for V-day mixtape. Speaking of ‘not too shabby’, I have to give big ups to the Emerson College Cafe – Sydney C and I used to eat there at least twice a week when we lived in Boston and I still miss those tasty pepper turkey sandwiches. But I digress…

Two quick years later and the one man project is now a quintet that has earned itself a record deal and opening spots for Death Cab For Cutie and Girl Talk. This week saw the release of the Pit’s highly anticipated debut album Manners, and after giving it a few spins I have to say that this ain’t no one-mixtape wonder band. I feel like I would almost be doing PP a disservice by trying to stick a label on their sound – it’s upbeat-synth-folk-electronica…or is it? Think about it this way, if MGMT got together with Postal Service for a few drinks and decided to create music that balanced out batshit crazy with bespectacled yearning, the result might sound something like Passion Pit. Included below are some jams for you get a little taste of what PP is putting down. ‘Little Secrets’ is all of what I just described with a hint of 80’s electro pop and, of course, a heavy serving of Angelakos’ signature falsetto. The backing vocals sound like they are provided by the kids from Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2′, except now the kids are out of school and cheerily getting their summer vacation on. ‘Sleepyhead’ is…well, it’s just ‘Sleepyhead’. Also below is the song Angelakos sampled to make ‘Sleepyhead’, a hauntingly beautiful piece of music in its own right. Check it:

Passion Pit – Little Secrets

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Passion Pit – Sleepyhead

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Mary O’Hara – Oro Mo Bhaidin (Sleepyhead sample)

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But wait, that’s not all folks – my boy Frank informed me that he has an extra ticket to the SOLD OUT Passion Pit show on 5/28 @ The Troubadour in West Hollywood and is looking to escort a lovely lady to the evening’s festivities. Hit us up for the hookup mamacitas!

Frank: That’s me! I took that photo only moments ago, so that is Frank as of whatever the date of this post is plus 2 hours. By the time of the concert I will have aged roughly a week, so keep that in mind. But if you wanna go to the show with me, let us know in the comments – and be sure to leave an email address we can reach you at (will not be published).

Manners is out now and avaliable wherever good music is sold.