Listening to their incredibly tight, überpolished debut, Manners, one may find it hard to believe that Passion Pit's been around for such a short time. Less than three years ago, frontman Michael Angelakos launched the project as a solo effort — on his laptop in his Emerson College dorm in Boston — as a "Valentine" for a girlfriend. Angelakos eventually performed it in front of a small group of friends, which ultimately resulted in the formation of the band at the urging of his friend and keyboardist/guitarist for the group, Ian Hultquist. The material went on to form part of the band's first EP, titled Chunk of Change. With the additions of Ayad Al Adhamy, Jeff Apruzzese, and Nathan Donmoyer, the band was complete.
Passion Pit's sound is hard to identify. Undoubtedly it has one foot firmly rooted in pop, but more progressive — a twist on alternative leaning heavily on electronic music. It's evidenced in its breakthrough hit, "Sleepyhead," a Mary O' Hara-sampled bit of genius featured in a Palm Pixi commercial and spawning scores of YouTube tributes totaling millions of views.
