Passion Pit
Chunk of Change E.P.

It's only a six-track E.P., but that doesn't matter to the hype machine. As far as it's concerned, Passion Pit are The Next Big Thing; many excitable types even based their assertions on just one track, the now ubiquitous 'Sleepyhead'. Yet for an E.P. that was allegedly created as a Valentine's Day present for singer/keyboardist Michael Angelakos's girlfriend, 'Chunk of Change' is an admittedly impressive feat.

The Massachusetts five-piece bound along a tightrope hitched between Animal Collective-style psychedelia and Hot Chip-style electro-dance, with a flood of synths thrown in for good measure. The results are at best, nothing short of marvellous (the mechanical skizz-pop beat and airy melody of 'I've Got Your Number', the hugely likeable 'Cuddle Fuddle', which could have been a Nintendo theme in the mid-'90s), and at worst, lacking charisma (the '80s vibe of 'Live To Tell the Tale' just sounds too 'normal' to have a place on this E.P.). 'Sleepyhead' - which samples harpist Mary O'Hara's song 'Oro Mo Bhaidin' - is exciting, too, if not initially; give its spacey, danceable comedown ambience time to grow, and it takes on something of a magical quality. These six tracks won't change your life, but they're quite pleasant nonetheless.

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