Passion Pit – The Pretty Penny Tour

About Passion Pit:

Boston, Massachusetts-based Passion Pit began as a one-man project of singer and songwriter Michael Angelakos to produce a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend. The gift, an EP entitled Chunk of Change, soon wound up in the hands of friends and acquaintances, who were enthralled with the work. Eventually, Passion Pit became not only a vehicle for the romantic expressions of Angelakos’ heart but a full-fledged band — at least for live gigs — and opened for a number of well-known artists, including Death Cab for Cutie. This momentum led to label interest, and in 2008 the Frenchkiss label picked up Chunk of Change for re-release with the addition of two bonus tracks. The EP, and especially the track “Sleepyhead,” garnered a lot of attention from bloggers and fans of giddy electronic indie pop.

Columbia Records also liked what they heard and paired with Frenchkiss to release Manners, the first album by the group (which now consisted of Angelakos, Nathan Donmoyer, Ian Hultquist, Ayad Al Adhamy, and Jeff Apruzzese), in the spring of 2009. It reached number 51 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and also charted in Australia and parts of Western Europe. The band’s long-awaited 2012 follow-up, Gossamer, was preceded by the singles “Take a Walk,” “I’ll Be Alright,” and “Constant Conversation,” and featured new member Xander Singh, who replaced Adhamy. It climbed all the way to number four in the U.S. and hit the Top 20 in Australia and Canada. While touring shortly after the album’s release, Angelakos canceled the remaining dates to enter a facility to seek help for his bipolar disorder.