Passion Pit

Manners (Columbia/Frenchkiss)

What began in late 2007 as singer Michael Angelakos’ Valentine’s Day gift to his then-girlfriend has catapulted him from dorm room to the Reading Festival. Manners charms on unsubtle electronic confection, filled with big emotions and chockablock with danceable cheeries like “Little Secrets,” augmented by Staten Island’s PS 22 children’s chorus. Powerhouse single “The Reeling” is a masterpiece from start to finish, with a big-butted bassline, while “Sleepyhead,” the group’s debut single, showcases sly humor in sampling “Óró Mo Bháidín” by Irish harpist Mary O’Hara. The missteps, “Moths Wings” and closing dud “Seaweed Song,” are few and far between, no mean feat in a debut release (2008’s Chunk of Change EP notwithstanding). Easy to imagine these songs positively blooming live. (5pm, Xbox 360 stage.)

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This article appears in October 2 • 2009.

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