Kindred

Passion Pit - Kindred
Critic Score
Based on 22 reviews
2015 Ratings: #699 / 1021
User Score
Based on 203 ratings
2015 Rank: #596
Liked by 5 people
April 21, 2015 / Release Date
LP / Format
Columbia / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

83
A.V. Club

At its most bombastic, Kindred is a battlefield of its own eccentricities with no regard for or worry about approaching a tipping point.

80
Alternative Press

After the doom and gloom of 2012’s Gossamer, Kindred sees Angelakos walking back into the light.

80
Exclaim!
Where Passion Pit really succeed on this record is that the nostalgia doesn't seem forced or gimmicky; there is sincerity to the nods and allusions, something lacking in a lot of the 1980s-inspired pop going around right now.
80
AllMusic

Kindred expresses a version of hesitant romance where disaster lurks but may not be inevitable, and where the moment is everything.

80
DIY
This is out-and-out pop music – there are no ‘indie’ qualifiers here - and it’s all the more joyous for its lack of shame. This is a major label pop album and that’s OK.
80
Under the Radar

On the group's excellent third album, Kindred, Angelakos has crafted a record which seems hopeful in the face of the world's myriad of disappointments, obstacles, and unseen villains, buoyed by the most dynamic, expertly calibrated synth pop of his career.

75
Pretty Much Amazing
Sure, Michael Angelakos’ music might cling to the superficialities of the 80s, but in reality he seems quite content with where he is at this very moment.
75
Consequence of Sound

Clocking in at just under 36 minutes, Kindred is easily the most consistent and thematically focused Passion Pit record to date.

70
Drowned in Sound

This new-found sense of greater perspective has led to a maturation in Passion Pit's sound; this is as close to an out-and-out pop album as we're going to get.

70
The Line of Best Fit
It’s not the finest showcase for the sheer diversity he’s capable of as Passion Pit, but it does stake a claim - context considered - for his ongoing importance.
70
Paste

While Kindred remains meticulously and impressively crafted, it just doesn’t carry the same emotional weight.

70
SPIN

Gossamer standouts like “Take a Walk” and “Carried Away,” might reach greater heights than the best songs on Kindred, but as a whole, this latest effort is much more accessible, consistent, and bursting with positivity.

70
NME

Even if there's still a sneaking suspicion Angelakos used up his very best tunes on 2008 debut EP 'Chunk Of Change', this dewy-eyed record sweeps you up in its joie de vivre all the same.

70
musicOMH
As Passion Pit albums go, it may not sound drastically different to what has gone before, but, nevertheless, it feels like a fresh start.
68
Pitchfork

Kindred lives and dies on the strength of its melodies, and some of those melodies are submarined by excess rather than enhanced by it.

60
No Ripcord

Unlike previous Passion Pit releases, Kindred’s arrangements are a heap of disjointed sound fragments glued into a form that exists solely to support the glossy veneer.

60
The Guardian

In spite of its earnest intentions, the music continues to bulldoze its way through sincerity; piles of chaotic, claustrophobic production and slick, synthy sophistication. 

50
Rolling Stone
They've mastered the art of pairing emotionally naked lyrics with sweet, lush synth beats. On their third LP, though, that strength becomes a fault, as the band's tender vibes begin to blur into sameness.
30
Slant Magazine

Unfortunately, Kindred only loses the plot further, entrenching itself in a sonically limited pop vocabulary (starchy synth lines; bristling, reverb-doused percussion; and huge, multi-tracked choruses) that's even further away from the chaotic chemistry of his debut.

Quet
82

A project at their most bombastic and electronic, Kindred is a significant step up from its predecessor.

You'reSoBaby
80

Nah, I loved it. Sue me.

HalfsourDyl
92

I always appreciated Kindred as a nice evolution from Gossamer's bleak hopelessness. Each track here is a more direct, sugary pop treat and brings a sigh of relief after the dark depths that came before. While, I can totally get how it wouldn't be a move musically that everyone would get behind, I can bump this album anytime.

A lot of the content on Kindred is framed as a return to normalcy and moving on from hardships. He mainly writes songs aimed at his wife. Some are about their love and ... read more

postcimntuj
38

I wasn’t really all that impressed with their sophomore record, but man, what the fuck happened here.

This album is annoying, generic, and boring. The bubblegum pop sound has been turned up to an extreme and just sounds like basic ass radio pop at this point. All the things that made Gossamer interesting are absent and missing.

The album started on a good note with *Lifted Up (1985)* with its hard hitting and catchy chorus. The production is fine and doesn’t sound too generic, ... read more

Jacksmileyco
78

I think the ideas on this one are better than on Gossamer but i do think its worse.
Lifted Up (1985) is a great starting track and i love a few of the other tracks as well
Pretty good follow up to Gossamer, but isnt its successor

Freddyarcade
100

C:)

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Added on: January 29, 2015