Passive Me, Aggressive You
Passive Me, Aggressive You is the debut studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band the Naked and Famous, released on 6 September 2010 by Somewhat Damaged. The album debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The album spawned four singles: "All of This", "Young Blood (The [Naked and Famous song)|Young Blood]", "Punching in a Dream" and "Girls Like You"; with "Young Blood" peaking at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Composition
Passive Me, Aggressive You is a synth-pop and electro-rock album, drawing from the genres of dance-rock, and featuring post-punk influences. "Young Blood" is a synth-pop song, while "Punching in a Dream" is of the dream pop genre. "Spank" is psychedelic rock.Singles
The first single from Passive Me, Aggressive You, "All of This", was released on 16 November 2009, almost a year prior to the album's release."Young Blood" was released as the album's second single on 7 July 2010, debuting at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart and spending two consecutive weeks atop the chart.
"Punching in a Dream" was released as the third single on 23 August 2010, reaching number 11 in New Zealand.
The album's fourth and final single, "Girls Like You", was released on 5 June 2011.
Critical reception
Chris Schulz from Stuff.co.nz awarded Passive Me, Aggressive You five out of five stars, and praised its production and variety of musical styles. AllMusic's Matt Collar praised the songs' catchy choruses and, awarding the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, concluded, "there's nothing passive about how much you could aggressively love this band". Scott Kara of The New Zealand Herald rated Passive Me, Aggressive You a perfect five stars, summarising "Forget the hype. It's real". The Nelson Mail Nick Ward called Passive Me, Aggressive You "Unconvincing, but with flashes of promise". Writing for NME, Mark Baumont described the album as "a glorious melting pot of pop perfection" and added "TN&F’s passive melodicism and aggressive innovation clash in a dazzling blaze of psych/sonic fireworks." The album was nominated for the 2011 Taite Music Prize.Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart on 13 September 2010, and was knocked off the top spot by Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns the following week.Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Passive Me, Aggressive You.The Naked and Famous
Technical
- Thom Powers – production, engineering
- Aaron Short – production, engineering
- Olly Harmer – additional engineering
- Billy Bush – mixing
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Joe LaPorta – mastering
Artwork
- Special Problems – artwork, design, video
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
| Australian Dance Albums | 39 |