Following yesterday’s announcement of Passion Pit’s forthcoming third LP Kindred due out on April 21 via Columbia, “Lifted Up (1985)” was immediately released as the lead single.
Nearly three years have passed since the release of the gauzy Gossamer, but the band has certainly wasted no time in readying its reintroduction to the world with “Lifted Up (1985),” a chugging synth anthem that’s irresistibly joyous.
As lead singer Michael Angelakos sings the chorus, “1985 was a good year / The sky broke apart and you appeared / Dropped from the heavens, they call me a dreamer / I won’t lie, I knew you belong here,” this song is by far the closest the band has ever come to sounding like it belonged in the 80s. If it doesn’t end up becoming a spring hit, someone has done something wrong.
Listen to “Lifted Up (1985)” here:
Also available with the album pre-order is the mid-tempo “Where the Sky Hangs.” This track places more of a focus on the lyrical delivery never once reaching the choral explosion of “Lifted Up.” Angelakos’ falsetto voice is cushioned in sparkling mallets and violins instead of sky-high synths and bass, a much needed contrast as to not feel overdone. In some ways, this song recalls the work of MIKA, but far less melancholy.
By the sounds of it, Kindred is shaping up to be one of the first major Spring releases that must not go unheard.
Listen to “Where the Sky Hangs” here:
The tracklist is:
- Lifted Up (1985)
- Whole Life Story
- Where the Sky Hangs
- All I Want
- Five Foot Ten (I)
- Dancing On the Grave
- Until We Can’t (Let’s Go)
- Looks Like Rain
- My Brother Taught Me How to Swim
- 10. Ten Feet Tall (II)
