The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You

Artist: The Naked and Famous
Album Title: Passive Me, Aggressive You
Label: Somewhat Damaged
Released: September 6, 2010
Website: thenakedandfamous.com

New Zealand natives, The Naked and Famous are an electronic indie band that comprises the musical talents of Thom Powers, Alisa Xayalith, Aaron Short, David Beadle and Jesse Wood. Their debut album “Passive Me, Aggressive You” lyrically embodies the confidence of youth with playful choir choruses and bouncy pop-synth rhythms. The album opens with “All of This,” a song that draws you in with a quick-paced chime-like melody that will make you want to hit the replay button as soon as it’s over.

“Punching In a Dream,” the second track on the album combines the female vocals of Alisa with Thom’s to create another quick-paced but soft, dreamy and echoing chorus. “Young Blood,” I would dare call the anthem of the album, is made up of musically layered, electric and shimmering phrases like “we’re only young and naïve still” and “we lie beneath the stars at night.” The album comes to an end with a rousing and bold song about youthful pride titled “Girls Like You.” With powerful lines like “your heart is a stone buried under your pretty clothes,” The Naked and Famous are out to make both musical and lyrical statements. All in all, the tracks of the album represent a song of the youth for the youth with the catchiest indie electro tunes you’ll hear in a while.

Reviewed by Krishna de la Cruz