Kindred

"Frontman Michael Angelakos presents a gratitude-imbued, relatively ballad-heavy, but still sparkling third Passion Pit LP in Kindred. In no great shift from the distinctive sound of previous records, it is, if anything, even more sugary in the synth palette and high end, as on the lullaby-leaning tones and melody of the candy-lacquered, ultra-falsettoed "Dancing on the Grave." Requisite redwood-sized beats and quirky noise doodles are also aboard, with strong reflections of '80s Scritti Politti trebles shining through, particularly on the playful "Five Foot Ten (I)." The ballad "Where the Sky Hangs" represents a softer side with rare sparsity, though still has Passion Pit's triple-rainbow impact, including cartoon kerplops and outer space vibes".

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"As the first document of Angelakos' shift towards a different songwriting approach, one more focused on efficiency and pop purity than complexity or breadth, Kindred is ultimately both a transitional moment and a mixed bag. Not every song on Manners and Gossamer worked, but at their very least they had something to keep your attention, some grippy sonic piece. Kindred lives and dies on the strength of its melodies, and some of those melodies are submarined by excess rather than enhanced by it".

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