At Comic-Con over the weekend it was announced that Passion Pit, the incredibly popular indie electro-pop band that started as a Valentine's Day gift from lead singer Michael Angelakos to his girlfriend, would appear on the soundtrack to "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2" (via Hypable). This is, presumably, a new song, although earlier soundtracks have used previously released tracks. They are the first band announced for the soundtrack.
Previous 'Twilight' saga soundtracks have featured new tracks by such indie music luminaries as Muse, Metric, Vampire Weekend, Lykke Li, Thom Yorke (that song is so damn good), Florence and the Machine and Death Cab for Cutie. Since the soundtracks are so popular and the exposure so great, bands jockey for position on the discs, and considering this is (at least in theory, anyway) the last 'Twilight' movie for a while, competition must have been pretty heated. You won the indie music "Rollerball," Passion Pit! Way to go!
Mormon housewife and 'Twilight' mastermind Stephenie Meyer has been outspoken about the role that music has played in the formation of the 'Twilight' saga – particularly the influence of British pop-rock band Muse – that has created an impressionable link between the 'Twilight' movies and the world of indie music. The soundtracks are a natural/lucrative extension of this connection.
Passion Pit will release their sophomore album, the genuinely brilliant (and satisfyingly noisy) Gossamer, on July 23rd. It's a natural progression from their heartfelt, sing-along electro-pop of their breakthrough Manners, with enough new elements to make it not seem like the same old shit (we're particularly loving the R&B-ish "Constant Conversations" and the bittersweet "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy"). If you pre-order Gossamer on iTunes you get access to a bonus track, with the 'Twilight'-y title "American Blood." Could this be the song that appears on the soundtrack? Or is there another, similarly vampiric song the band has cooked up? And who will join them on the soundtrack? We'll find out soon enough.
