The Passions - Michael & Miranda
Artist: The Passions
Rating: EXCELLENT
Genres: New Wave,  Post-Punk
Released: 1980
Type: Album
Label: Fiction Records
Link: Spotify
Espousing the same post-punk, gothic ethic that brought bands like Siouxie & the Banshees to the forefront of the burgeoning darkwave genre, The Passions' 1980 debut, Michael & Miranda, suggested that they were at least on the same track. Off-kilter jangle out of step with the bass and drums defined the opening "Pedal Fury," placing the band firmly in quirk territory, a point that the Passions continued to reiterate across the rest of the set. Picking up the pace on "Love Song" or slowing it down across"Man on the Tube" and then doing both on "Obsession" (which puts Barbara Gogan's vocals so far away from the mic for the sake of atmosphere that it sounds like she's in another room) really didn't add much punch to the Passions' gloomy intent. It's easy to see their roots -- they're glaring. But so they were for all the other bands rising at the time. It's just a shame that this band sounded even more like Siouxie & the Banshees than the rest of them. Stilted and lean, the songs on Michael & Miranda just don't measure up against what the Passions would do a little later or against what their peers were doing at the time. This is ho-hum and humdrum. Post-punks may have been bathing in the horizontal effects of their miasma, but they still hoped for a little spark. - Amy Hanson for allmusic
Editions:
1980 Original Release
Fiction Records | FIX003 | Vinyl, LP
Side A:
  A1. Pedal Fury (2:08)
A2. Oh No, It's You (4:26)
A3. Snow (2:31)
  A4. Love Song (2:35)
  A5. Man on the Tube (3:53)
  A6. Miranda (1:11)
Side B:
  B1. Obsession (3:36)
  B2. Suspicion (2:35)
B3. Palava (2:06)
  B4. Absentee (3:17)
  B5. Brick Wall (2:39)
B6. Why Me (3:12)