Top 5 Albums Of 2009 - #1

Passion Pit
Manners

Over the summer, my co-worker popped in a copy of this album, knowing absolutely nothing aside from its ambiguously undescriptive album art. As the impossibly amazing opener ("Make Light") went into track 2, he half jokingly exclaimed "album of the year!". As it turned out, there was no joking necessary. Manners is without a doubt the crowning achievement in music this year. The second track ("Little Secrets") as mentioned earlier, is a bouncy trip through Spring Yard Zone from Sonic The Hedgehog with "Invisible Touch" blasting through your Sony Walkman's headphones. Each song continues this trend of combining the best moments of your childhood into unthinkably catchy synthpop. First kiss, Saturday morning cartoons, getting your license, water parks - all while simultaneously being firmly placed in the club or your favorite trendy bar.  While most indie electropop albums seem to focus on the darker, more serious side of the genre's origins (Depeche Mode, early New Order) this album captures all the fun of your Best of the 80's playlist (Bananarama, later New Order) without actually sounding like a throwback . This album is distinctly 2009. When going through the album it seems like the roof will cave in at any moment - they will either start repeating themselves and get boring, or it will take a turn in its second half that won't be as good . Thankfully it does neither. The album stays pretty upbeat (stopping only once for a breather in "Swimming In The Flood", a cool headbobber that Jay-Z should probably be sweating over). "Folds In Your Hands" brings it back to the party with a vengeance, pushing Peter Cetera falsettos through The Haçienda. "Seaweed Song" closes the album in a somewhat reflective mood which makes you feel as if you just graduated high school with these guys. The album's euphoria is one of its most important traits.

With a barrel of pop hooks this good, and an attack that simply no one else has, its hard to tell where a band like this can go from here. I haven't heard the Chunk Of Change EP (2008) which makes it more difficult to predict their longevity. They could easily put out a followup that could just mine this record for all its worth, diluting it of its initial power. On the other hand, they could become the biggest band in the world. While I wait to find out, I think I'm going to just put Manners on again.