CMJ '08: Feel The Passion

Much like Black Kids last year, the buzz is loud for Boston's Passion Pit 'round these CMJ parts in 2008. The group's Tuesday night showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg was sold-out, leaving a gaggle of hipsters out of luck and in the cold. J.I. snuck in just after the first song, and our first impression: boy, we thought Hot Chip defined nerdy, but we may need to think again.

These guys epitomize the burgeoning indie rock disco trend, and with their bedheads and tight T-shirts (one keyboardist was wearing a whitey that looked fresh out of a Hanes 3-pack), they look the part of the party-starters. Musically, we were half-expecting them to break into a-ha's "Take on Me," so steeped in '80s synth-pop was the seven-song set. The defining attribute is Michael Angelakos' voice, which is virtually always pitched to maximum falsetto while his bandmates bash away on their synths.

Passion Pit played five of the six songs on their Frenchkiss EP, "Chunk of Change," and two other tunes pegged for their full-length debut, due next spring. The early 20s-skewed crowd ate it up, particularly "Better Things," which is like the happy-go-lucky kid brother of MGMT's "Electric Feel," and "Live To Tell the Tale."

We heard from two reliable sources that the band is mulling a major-label deal, but the ink isn't quite dry, so we'll leave it at that. Our read: great energy, but the tunes aren't quite there yet. We'll keep an ear open. -- Jonathan Cohen