Passion Pit preview new album, prove synthpop superiority with "Lifted Up (1985)"

Passion Pit, along with MGMT, brought synthpop back as a genre, paving the way for decent copycats like Ghost Beach, Walk the Moon, Magic Man and Capital Cities in addition to genuinely great acts like CHVRCHES, Foster the People and Grouplove. With their new track "Lifted Up (1985)," they instantly prove their superiority over every other name in the synthpop game.

Are the lyrics kind of cheesy and a bit non-sensical? Yes. Are we all growing tired of 80s nostalgia creeping into song and album titles (cough, cough Taylor Swift)? Of course. But no one does production as well as Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos and "Lifted Up (1985)" places a firm emphasis on that point. The intro, the synthesizer lines, the ebullient, falsetto shouting in the background, the aggressive drums, the twinkling percussions and the epic, sweeping crescendos come together building a package that is unrivaled in today's crowded synthpop field.

"Lifted Up (1985)" is the first single off Passion Pit's third album Kindred, which hits stores and online music outlets on Columbia Records. The album goes on pre-sale Feb. 17 with "Lifted Up (1985)" and another song, "Where the Sky Hangs," instantly available for download to buyers. Check out the video for "Lifted Up (1985)" (which includes the artwork for the new album but in motion) and full tracklist for Kindred below.

Kindred
01 Lifted Up (1985)
02 Whole Life Story
03 Where the Sky Hangs
04 All I Want
05 Five Foot Ten (I)
06 Dancing on the Grave
07 Until We Can't (Let's Go)
08 Looks Like Rain
09 My Brother Taught Me How to Swim
10 Ten Feet Tall (II)