The band consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals, keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards, guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synthesizer, samples), Jeff Apruzzese (bass, synth bass), and Nate Donmoyer (drums). Garratt proves he is a formidable solo force, and 2015 is surely destined to be a huge year for him.Passion Pit are an American electropop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts, formed in 2007. The energy is in abundance, the concentration and dedication is plentiful, the sheer talent (combined with a bit of sweat) drips from his fingertips. Complete with Fischer’s sample, live filtering and piano looping, Garratt glides his way through a 7 minute performance – this is well rehearsed magic at work, each beat deliberate, each section thoroughly considered. Surrounded by a drum pad and piano, he is the very definition of a one-man band. After all, this has become commonplace among many artists over the last couple of years – it allows greater scope for musical ingenuity without live performance suffering. Given a listen on your headphones in the comfort of your own home, you’d be forgiven for believing that, assuming he was a multi-instrumentalist, Garratt recorded each instrument separately and when it came to live shows, he would either have to call in session musicians or have his laptop play a heavy part throughout. The song is provided the justice it deserves in an exclusive Vevo performance that debuted in late December ’14, the first live performance of this particular track uploaded and one of only a few live performances of Garratt’s on YouTube. The final minute of the song is an all-out-guns-blazing, dictionary-definition climax, the unleashing of fury, resentment, of everything bottled up, (including Garratt’s vocals) – a finale of mountainous proportions, its grand peak in terms of music and emotion – the ultimate payoff. This is a man at the end of his tether, and instead of reacting in anger, it is the broken voice of defeat – the bass synth carries the aggression the song requires – Garratt knows his craft, and he executes it well. I’ve been trying to give you some space but you won’t let me “ I’ve been trying to give you my love but you won’t let me Where the innocence of Bon Iver came from his falsetto in the verses of ‘Skinny Love’, and his powerful full-voice outburst came in the chorus, ‘The Love You’re Given’ instead has it’s power in the emphasis placed in the low and high ends – the bass fills out every gap that is left that Garratt’s falsetto vocal doesn’t fill. The desperation has reached its pinnacle, and Garratt performs in a reverse Bon Iver manner. Around a minute and a half in, the chorus suddenly takes precedence – it is arresting. Both are processed through a filter giving the impression of Garratt speaking to his lover from behind a closed door, a literal and metaphorical distance between them. The song starts with a vocal sample (the voice of Lisa Fischer, lifted from 2013 music documentary film ’20 Feet from Stardom’) eerily reminiscent of the one that appears throughout Passion Pit’s ‘Sleepyhead’ and accompanies Garratt’s delicate vocals and select piano chords. A classic track that, given the time invested (a track length of exactly 5 minutes is a lot to ask of a social sprite) results in a huge payoff – a track destined for topping ‘Best of ’15’ charts, assuming Garratt reaches the audience he is deserving of. However, despite the instant-hit qualities that Chemical possesses, the main body of my attention is focused on slow-builder ‘The Love You’re Given’. From the first to the last, each song could be a hit in it’s own right, with synth heavy ‘Chemical’ causing particular waves online and chosen as the leading single from the EP.
However, with the release of his first four-track EP, ‘Synesthesiac’ this is exactly what Buckinghamshire electronic singer-songwriter Jack Garratt has accomplished. No comments of ‘oh, I wish it went to another chorus’, no ‘too cluttered’, nothing. So rich in detail, that the first thing those listening recognise is the certain lack of flaws. It’s rather rare that anything other than a single release contains a culmination of expertise, a reflection of dedication to each song.
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