Chairlift “Does You Inspire You” Review

I finally got to the debut album Does You Inspire You from Chairlift—a hype band that I had managed to avoid, forget about, and altogether miss earlier this year. Their album came up on a lot of year end lists, which gave me an extra motivation to finally explore it beyond their iPod single, “Bruises,” that helped gain them recognition. They fall comfortably into the “dream pop” genre that included a few of the better bands that put out discs this year, including Beach House, Fight Bite and Grouper. They are musical kindred spirits with MGMT and were touring partners with Yeasayer, which may positively or negatively affect how you feel about them right off the bat. Their songs, both delicate and beautiful, may not be for everyone, but Chairlift were successful in making a strong debut album of shimmering pop music.

photo by Jason Klauber

According to the band, they began making music as soundtracks to haunted houses, which makes sense when you hear their dramatic and chilly sounds. The album has a dense and claustrophobic sound, but still has many moments where they escape from this format and let out in a blissful and joyous manner. The record starts out with two of the best tracks on the whole disc, “Garbage” and “Health.” Opener “Garbage” sounds like an indie-pop public service announcement, with clicks and drones creating a subtle groove lead singer Caroline Polachek goes over all of the garbage that we negligently throw away and how it will not decay. Her pretty voice compliments the dark undertones of the song and shows the band’s strengths, which lay in mixing smoldering electronic elements of their music with some real beautiful singing and arrangements. After a stabbing guitar line joins the song, Polachek reminds us that we have “stomachs full of oil and vinegar.” The truth isn’t pretty, but this song somehow makes it not sound so bad.

The next song, “Planet Health,” is my favorite track from the album as it takes the funky and aesthetically cold backing track and uses it to bring forward some funny yet serious stuff (it is a riff on health class curriculum). The bass is thumping, but Polacheck’s voice and some shimmering bells are brought to the forefront of this great track, detailing how we are some damn unhealthy people. The band breaks it down at the end, with Polacheck talking about people getting kicked off of “Planet Health” and then instructing everyone to “Stop, drop and roll… to put out the fire.” Her sexy voice and the 1980s vocal echo makes for a great end to this excellent track. Replacing the more serious lyrics with some standard love song material (“I tried to do handstands for you”), “Bruises” does not have the dreamy intensity that is present in the best songs Chairlift have written. The first single from the band, “Evident Utensil,” is the one I would have picked for an iPod commercial if they had asked me (for some reason, Apple has never asked me for my opinion…weird). The song has a tightly wound rhythm with their spacey aesthetic and Polacheck chanting “How hard must I try for you” while the music slowly builds throughout the song. The last third of the disc finds the band stretching out a little too far with a dream pop take on a country balled with “Don’t Give A Damn,” and the last two tracks being hazy and swirling songs that find the band losing their the focus that made the first two thirds of their record so strong.

Like the aforementioned Yeasayer and MGMT, Chairlift is a band that I am sure will be loved by some and loathed by others. The dream pop genre allows for a lot of room for bands to become overblown, but for the most part, Chairlift avoid the traps that could make their music cheesy or too bombastic. The record, while being far from perfect, is a successful start for a band that has a bright future in front of them.

Chairlift “Evident Utensil” (mp3)

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Also: Peter Bjorn and John & Chairlift @ Fine Line Music Cafe