Passive Me, Aggressive You

Passive Me, Aggressive You (stylised as 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", "Punching in a Dream" and "Girls Like You"; with "Young Blood" peaking at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart.

Passive Me, Aggressive You
Studio album by
Released6 September 2010 (2010-09-06)
StudioThe Lab (Auckland, New Zealand)
Genre
Length49:15
LabelSomewhat Damaged
Producer
  • Thom Powers
  • Aaron Short
The Naked and Famous chronology
No Light
(2008)
Passive Me, Aggressive You
(2010)
Passive Me, Aggressive You (Remixes & B-Sides)
(2013)
Singles from Passive Me, Aggressive You
  1. "All of This"
    Released: 16 November 2009
  2. "Young Blood"
    Released: 7 June 2010
  3. "Punching in a Dream"
    Released: 23 August 2010
  4. "Girls Like You"
    Released: 5 June 2011

Composition

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Passive Me, Aggressive You is a synth-pop and electro-rock album,[1][2] drawing from the genres of dance-rock, and featuring post-punk influences.[3] "Young Blood" is a synth-pop song, while "Punching in a Dream" is of the dream pop genre. "Spank" is psychedelic rock.[4]

Singles

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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.[5]

"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

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
BBC MusicMixed[4]
Consequence of Sound     [7]
The Dominion Post     [8]
The Nelson Mail     [9]
The New Zealand Herald     [10]
NME8/10[11]
Otago Daily Times     [12]

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.[13] 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".[3] Scott Kara of The New Zealand Herald rated Passive Me, Aggressive You a perfect five stars, summarising "Forget the hype. It's real".[10] The Nelson Mail's Nick Ward called Passive Me, Aggressive You "Unconvincing, but with flashes of promise".[9] 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."[11] The album was nominated for the 2011 Taite Music Prize.[14]

Commercial performance

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The album debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart on 13 September 2010,[15] and was knocked off the top spot by Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns the following week.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Thom Powers, Alisa Xayalith and Aaron Short

No.TitleLength
1."All of This"3:55
2."Punching in a Dream"3:58
3."Frayed"3:46
4."The Source"0:48
5."The Sun"3:56
6."Eyes"4:43
7."Young Blood"4:06
8."No Way"5:29
9."Spank"4:10
10."Jilted Lovers"3:15
11."A Wolf in Geek's Clothing"3:14
12."The Ends"1:49
13."Girls Like You"6:04
Total length:49:15
iTunes Store bonus track[17]
No.TitleLength
14."Machinery"2:35
Total length:51:50
Physical downloadable bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Wild"3:53
Japanese edition bonus tracks[18]
No.TitleLength
14."Wild"3:53
15."Sow"4:06
16."Bright Lights"2:36

All tracks are written by Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith, except where noted

UK deluxe edition – disc 2 (This Machine EP)
No.TitleLength
1."Kill the Littleblackdots"2:44
2."Serenade"2:43
3."Meeting People Sucks" (Powers, Xayalith, Ben Knapp, Jordan Clark)2:26
4."Part 1"2:10
5."Post"5:39
6."Spies Spies Spies"3:38
Total length:19:20

All tracks are written by Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith, except where noted

UK deluxe edition – disc 3 (No Light EP)
No.TitleLength
1."Dadada"3:10
2."Birds" (Xayalith, Powers, Ben Knapp, Jordan Clark)3:21
3."Cheek" (Xayalith, Powers, Knapp, Clark)3:19
4."Who Are You Talking To?" (Aaron Short, Xayalith, Powers)2:48
5."Part 2"2:37
6."Bells"3:52
Total length:19:04

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Passive Me, Aggressive You.[19]

The Naked and Famous

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Technical

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  • Thom Powers – production, engineering
  • Aaron Short – production, engineering
  • Olly Harmer – additional engineering
  • Billy Bush – mixing
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering

Artwork

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  • Special Problems – artwork, design, video

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Passive Me, Aggressive You
Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Silver 60,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Release dates and formats for Passive Me, Aggressive You
Region Date Format Label Catalogue
New Zealand[17] 6 September 2010 Somewhat Damaged 81359
Australia[36] Digital download
Canada[37]
United States[38]
Australia[39] 1 October 2010 CD 2753221
Germany[40] 11 March 2011 Digital download
United Kingdom[41][42][43] 14 March 2011
CD
2757442
Picture disc LP 2757444
3-CD deluxe edition 2764039
United States[44][45] 15 March 2011 CD
B0015363-02
LP B0015436-01
Germany[46] 18 March 2011 CD
  • Fiction
  • Somewhat Damaged
2757442
Japan[18][47] 8 June 2011
  • CD
  • digital download
Universal UICP-1127

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mathieson, Craig (25 April 2014). "Still Naked and Famous, just no more 'woahs'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. ^ James, Matt (30 September 2013). "The Naked and Famous: In Rolling Waves". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Collar, Matt. "Passive Me Aggressive You – The Naked and Famous". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b Harley, Kevin (3 March 2011). "The Naked and Famous Passive Me, Aggressive You Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  5. ^ Young Blood – charts.nz
  6. ^ "Passive Me Aggressive You – The Naked and Famous". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  7. ^ Larson, Jeremy (29 March 2011). "Album Review: The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  8. ^ Cardy, Tom (16 September 2010). "CD Review The Naked and Famous – Passive Me Aggressive You". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  9. ^ a b Ward, Nick (23 September 2010). "CD Reviews". The Nelson Mail. p. 12.
  10. ^ a b Kara, Scott (9 September 2010). "Album Review: The Naked and Famous Passive Me, Aggressive You". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  11. ^ a b Beaumont, Mark (9 March 2011). "Album Review: The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You (Fiction)". NME. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  12. ^ Harford, Jeff (25 September 2010). "CD Reviews". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  13. ^ Schulz, Chris (8 September 2010). "CD review: Passive Me, Aggressive You – The Naked and Famous". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 September 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  14. ^ "Taite Music Prize 2011". IMNZ. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  15. ^ "The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You". charts.nz. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  16. ^ "Album Top 40". charts.nz. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  17. ^ a b "Passive Me Aggressive You". iTunes Store. New Zealand. January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Passive Me.Aggressive You : The Naked and Famous". HMV Japan. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  19. ^ Passive Me, Aggressive You (liner notes). The Naked and Famous. Somewhat Damaged. 2010. 2753221.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me - Aggressive You". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me - Aggressive You". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me - Aggressive You" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me - Aggressive You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me - Aggressive You" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Naked and Famous". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me - Aggressive You". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  29. ^ "The Naked and Famous Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  30. ^ "The Naked and Famous Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  31. ^ "The Naked and Famous Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  32. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2010". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  33. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Dance Albums Chart 2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  34. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". Radioscope. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  35. ^ "British album certifications – The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Passive Me Aggressive You". iTunes Store. Australia. January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  37. ^ "Passive Me Aggressive You". iTunes Store. Canada. January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  38. ^ "Passive Me Aggressive You". iTunes Store. United States. January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  39. ^ "Passive Me Aggressive You – Naked and Famous, The". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  40. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You". iTunes Store. Germany. January 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  41. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You". iTunes Store. United Kingdom. January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  42. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You [CD]". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  43. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You [VINYL]". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  44. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  45. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  46. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You". Amazon. Germany. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  47. ^ "Passive Me, Aggressive You". iTunes Store. Japan. Retrieved 12 September 2013.