Manners (album)

Manners is the debut studio album by American electropop band Passion Pit. It was released on May 15, 2009, by Frenchkiss Records. "The Reeling" was released as the album's lead single on May 11, 2009, and its music video was premiered on YouTube on April 21, 2009. A second single, "To Kingdom Come", was released in August 2009, followed by "Little Secrets" in December 2009. "Sleepyhead" was originally included on Passion Pit's first EP, Chunk of Change (2008), but was mastered for inclusion on Manners (none of the tracks on the EP were mastered). As of December 2009, the album had sold 82,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[4]

Manners
Studio album by
Passion Pit
ReleasedMay 15, 2009 (2009-05-15)
RecordedNovember–December 2008
StudioGigantic, New York City
Genre
Length45:33
LabelFrenchkiss
ProducerChris Zane
Passion Pit chronology
Chunk of Change
(2008)		 Manners
(2009)		 Gossamer
(2012)
Alternative cover
Extended edition cover
Singles from Manners
  1. "The Reeling"
    Released: May 11, 2009
  2. "To Kingdom Come"
    Released: August 24, 2009
  3. "Little Secrets"
    Released: December 14, 2009

A deluxe edition of the album was released on April 13, 2010, containing three bonus tracks and new artwork. The bonus tracks included stripped-down versions of "Moth's Wings" and "Sleepyhead" and a cover of The Cranberries' 1992 song "Dreams", which the band played live on their 2010 world tour.[5]

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Manners, Passion Pit embarked on an 18-date North American tour in 2019, which began on April 30 in Tempe, Arizona, and concluded on May 25 in Washington, D.C.[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[7]
Metacritic76/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The A.V. ClubC+[10]
The Daily Telegraph[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB[12]
The Guardian[13]
The Irish Times[14]
NME7/10[15]
Pitchfork8.1/10[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Spin6/10[18]

Manners received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 27 reviews.[8] Mike Diver of Clash scored the album nine out of ten, writing, "At its most adventurous, Manners sounds like little else—a pop record that exists in a world of its own, carving a subgenre niche which only fits their expansive, tonally decadent material."[19] Nick Marino of Paste stated that "[n]ot every song is perfect, but perfection is boring. What we need in these weary times—and what Passion Pit brings—is exuberance. Manners delivers the elusive feeling that everything will be alright. Or, just maybe, that everything already is."[20] Pitchfork's Ian Cohen viewed Manners as "the sort of heart-to-heart populist record that's every bit as sincere as it is infectious—though Angelakos sings in a manner rarely heard outside of a shower with unpredictable temperature control, it feels symbolic of a band that's completely unashamed, not shameless, in its pursuit of a human connection."[16] In a review for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes described the album as "a shiny bouquet of synth-pop roses, with perfumed Eighties keyboard whooshes and modern stutter beats crooking a finger toward the dance floor", adding that "what makes the record are [Angelakos'] loose beats, shamelessly fruity melodies and breathless little-boy vocals, all pushing skyward."[17]

AllMusic editor Tim Sendra expressed that the album "could have been a total clustercrash of influences and sounds that ended up sounding hollow and pointless. Instead, thanks to the meticulous production values, the insane catchiness of the hooks, and the pure and true emotional underpinnings below all the gloss, the album is a total success of both sound and vision."[9] The Guardian's Paul MacInnes noted that while Angelakos' "euphoric mix of pop both electronic and melodic" is not "entirely unfamiliar", "the consistency with which various elements are blended suggests an artist with his own vision—signature details being crashing percussion left high in the mix and, even higher, Angelakos's piercing falsetto." MacInnes continued, "Perhaps not as striking as it might have seemed 18 months ago, but still a debut album of distinction."[13] Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine opined, "Ironically enough for an album called Manners, its biggest problem is that the band sometimes comes on too strong—a risk for anyone trying to execute lush, hyperactive pop with good taste." He concluded that "while Manners would make a perfect soundtrack to any summer, you'll want to keep the best cuts around for far longer."[21]

PopMatters critic Matthew Fiander praised Manners as "big, ambitious, bursting-at-the-seams electro-pop brilliance", writing that the album "makes you want to dance, and it gets it hooks deep into, so much so that you might be humming the melodies to these songs mindlessly, before you even realize they're Passion Pit."[22] Entertainment Weekly's Jeremy Medina claimed that although "disorienting", the album "never lacks energy", adding that "while the midtempo tunes often venture into cheesy '80s-pop territory, the album's dense sound rewards repeat listens."[12] Louise Brailey of NME commented that "while they do dip into an Avalanches-esque sample-based sonic palette, most of Manners paints with much broader, primary-coloured strokes." Still, Brailey believed that "[t]here are times when the album feels strangely medicated; the positivity, when heaped upon the listener in brutal doses, makes you feel trapped in one of those American self-help groups."[15] Paul Caine of The A.V. Club felt that the album "attempts to synthesize Michael Angelakos' natural talent for dance music with more straightforward, heart-on-sleeve rock, but can't quite commit to either."[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Angelakos, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Make Light" 4:56
2."Little Secrets" 3:59
3."Moth's Wings" 4:16
4."The Reeling" 4:48
5."Eyes as Candles" 4:03
6."Swimming in the Flood" 4:59
7."Folds in Your Hands" 3:39
8."To Kingdom Come" 4:07
9."Sleepyhead"
2:55
10."Let Your Love Grow Tall" 3:32
11."Seaweed Song" 4:25
Extended edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Sleepyhead" (stripped down version)
  • Angelakos
  • O'Hara
2:28
13."Moth's Wings" (stripped down version) 4:02
14."Dreams"
4:18
Japanese edition bonus tracks[23]
No.TitleLength
12."I've Got Your Number"6:12
13."Better Things"4:32
14."Live to Tell the Tale"5:15
15."The Reeling" (Calvin Harris Remix)6:22
16."The Reeling" (Yasutaka Nakata [capsule] Remix)5:45
17."The Reeling" (music video) 

Sample credits

  • "Sleepyhead" contains elements of "Óró Mo Bháidín" by Mary O'Hara.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Manners.[24]

Passion Pit

Additional musicians
  • PS22 Chorus – background vocals (tracks 2, 4, 10)
  • Julian Tepper – background vocals (track 1)
  • Sofia Degli Alessandri – background vocals (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7)
  • Stuart Bogie – horns (tracks 1, 2, 4, 8)
  • Eric Biondo – horns (tracks 1, 2, 4, 8)
  • Paul Hogan – string arrangements (track 6)
  • Cale Parks – vibes (tracks 6, 10, 11)
  • Seth Jabour – guitar (track 2)
  • Matthew Young – additional programming (tracks 1, 3)
  • Grant Wheeler – additional programming (tracks 1, 3)
  • George Pagonis – drums (track 1)

Technical

Artwork
  • OSK Design – art, design

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 98
French Albums (SNEP)[27] 123
Irish Albums (IRMA)[28] 30
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 88
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 55
US Billboard 200[31] 51
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[32] 8

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Label Ref.
Australia May 15, 2009 Sony [34]
France May 18, 2009 [35]
United Kingdom Columbia [36]
United States May 19, 2009 Frenchkiss [37]
Italy June 25, 2009 Sony [38]
Germany July 3, 2009 [39]
Japan October 7, 2009 [23]

References
  1. Taylor, Drew (July 16, 2012). "Vampires Love Dreamy Electro-Pop: Passion Pit First Band Announced For 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2' Soundtrack". IndieWire. Retrieved December 11, 2019. ... heartfelt, sing-along electro-pop of their breakthrough Manners...
  2. Cohen, Ian (July 23, 2012). "Passion Pit: Gossamer". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  3. Palathingal, George (July 12, 2013). "The real deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved December 11, 2019. ... the fresh, soaring electro-indie of his outfit's debut album Manners...
  4. Perpetua, Matthew (December 21, 2009). "Pitchfork Top 10 Albums, In US Sales". Fluxtumblr. Retrieved September 14, 2017 – via Tumblr.
  5. Phillips, Amy (March 16, 2010). "Passion Pit Reissue Debut Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  6. Reed, Ryan (February 4, 2019). "Passion Pit Plot 'Manners' 10th Anniversary Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  7. "Manners by Passion Pit reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  8. "Reviews for Manners by Passion Pit". Metacritic. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  9. Sendra, Tim. "Manners – Passion Pit". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  10. Caine, Paul (May 26, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  11. McNulty, Bernadette (May 20, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  12. Medina, Jeremy (May 26, 2009). "Manners". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  13. MacInnes, Paul (May 15, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners". The Guardian. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  14. Clayton-Lea, Tony (May 15, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners (Columbia)". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  15. Brailey, Louise (May 13, 2009). "Album review: Passion Pit". NME. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  16. Cohen, Ian (May 22, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  17. Hermes, Will (May 18, 2009). "Manners : Passion Pit". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  18. Suarez, Jessica (June 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners". Spin. Vol. 25 no. 6. p. 94. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved December 11, 2019 – via Google Books.
  19. Diver, Mike (May 5, 2009). "Passion Pit – Manners". Clash. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  20. Marino, Nick (May 18, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners". Paste. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  21. Cole, Matthew (May 21, 2009). "Review: Passion Pit, Manners". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  22. Fiander, Matthew (May 28, 2009). "Passion Pit: Manners". PopMatters. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  23. Manners／ !マナー (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  24. Manners (liner notes). Passion Pit. Columbia Records. 2009. 5053105215533.CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. "Australiancharts.com – Passion Pit – Manners". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  26. "Ultratop.be – Passion Pit – Manners" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  27. "Lescharts.com – Passion Pit – Manners". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  28. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Passion Pit". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  31. "Passion Pit Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  32. "Passion Pit Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  33. "American album certifications – Passion Pit – Manners". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 30, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  34. "Manners – Passion Pit". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  35. "Manners – Passion Pit" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  36. "Passion Pit – Manners". Columbia Records UK. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  37. "Manners: Passion Pit". Amazon. United States. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  38. "Passion Pit – Manners". IBS.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  39. "Passion Pit – Manners" (in German). Sony Music Germany. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
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