Pop Comment: Passion Pit vs. Purity Ring

It's the age old musical argument, at least in pop music... which is ultimately better, the grow-er or the show-er? Two great releases this week emerge triumphant, after a moderate drought of decent new releases over the last month: Passion Pit's second full length Gossamer and Purity Ring's long-awaited debut Shrines.

Although both are from the overflowing pot of 'post-electropop' bands, the two acts have little in common, but I compare them because I believe both to be of End-Of-Year-List quality for entirely different reasons, both of which I can appreciate.

Gossamer is very wordy, as Passion Pit have always been, but even wordier this time round as the focus on hooks seems dwindling, and frontman Michael Angelakos seems to put a lot more emphasis on storytelling in his lyrics.

Funnily enough, soundwise Gossamer is closer in sound to the band's smashing debut EP, drenched in "Sleepyhead" chipmunk voices, particularly on "I'll Be Alright", a hyperactive blinding ray of sunshine masquerading as a pop song. But whilst the sound might be brighter, rawer and more in your face than the sleek, commercial Manners, the songs are actually darker, with confessions like "I'm so self loathing that it's hard for me to see" on said "I'll Be Alright". It's these dark lyrical tones that tend to overshadow big melodies, but with repeat listens, the bittersweet taste of the record becomes more-ish. "Constant Conversations" and "Love is Greed" in particular benefit from a second listen, as their gorgeous melodies shine brighter once the impact of the lyrics has sunk in.

Shrines on the other hand wears its bittersweetness on its sleeve, and its razor sharp witchy hip hop beats and aching synth lines are instantly dark but irresistably catchy. Lyrically it is obscure but alarming, its impact doubled by the sweet indie-girl croons of Megan James. Phrases like "ears ringing, teeth clicking" on jittery breakthrough track "Ungirthed" and "cut open my sternum and poke my little ribs around" on the colossal and brilliant "Fineshrine", never become any more comfortable to listen to. The album is 38 minutes, short, sweet and occasionally shocking.


Yet Shrines makes sense whether it be one track here, or another there. It's all great, but in the space of a whole album, tracks like "Belispeak" and "Shuck" tend to sound like rehashes. It's a great sound to rehash, and just as enjoyable, but the feeling that you've heard a song previously on the album can be hard to shake. However, the trio of gritty "Fineshrine", "Ungirthed" and the blissful "Amenamy", is a fine, fine one, and "Obedear" later on, makes a hat trick a quad trick of four truly perfect, instantly loveable tracks, which is more than can be said for Gossamer, which, "I'll Be Alright" aside, is hard to pick favourites from until you dive back in a few times.

Both will make my end of year top 20 albums no doubt, but whilst I love travelling Gossamer's shy but beautifully paved twee-synth roads to its heart, I won't be taking long journies with Shrines. However, I will probably have a drunken dancefloor euphoria moment with each one of the 11 tracks separately before the year is out. As for Gossamer, as much as the album as a whole makes sense, only "I'll Be Alright" could end up being my most overplayed song of the year, if only for the heart-stopping opening 20 seconds. Try it yourself...