Brooklyn based Chairlift started out with the lofty goal of making music for haunted houses. And while some tracks, mainly opener “Garbage”, have space-like haunts, their debut album Does You Inspire You is only a slightly moody electro-synth album. 
The band is best known for their kick off single “Bruises”, which can be heard as one of the latest iPod Nano commercials. This track is a bouncy, sugar-sweet little ditty of colors, with silly (in an affectionate way) lyrics. “I tried to do headstands for you / Every time I fell on you, yeah every time I fell / I tried to do handstands for you but every time I fell for you / I’m permanently black and blue / Permanently blue for you.” Sweetly try to impress your new crush as this song does so well with its listeners.
The rest of the album blossoms out on the completely opposite end of the color spectrum than that of “Bruises”; less poppy, slower, hazy, shadowy and mystic. And this is not a bad thing at all. This Knife-like mystique is best exemplified on the track “Earwig Town”. Caroline Polacheck‘s vocals are haunting and cold, which aids the lofty, gloomy synth aura reverberating throughout the tune. The doom like sound is aided by the menacing bass line.
“Evident Utensil” is a pure 80s melody and Polacheck’s amazing, intriguing and far-ranging vocals are prominently displayed. Think of a happier Nico on this one. There’s a lot of energy on this track from the vocals, to the solid drum beats, to the bells and Casio sounding synthesizers. “Planet Health” is an Oriental-esque song with the chimes that we associate with Chinese music as well as some light gong bashing thrown in for good measure. It’s a quirky track with even quirkier lyrics but creates an impressive synth ballad. “Don’t Give A Damn” takes a completely different turn than the album’s dream pop. It’s a slow, country number driven by Polacheck’s sweet voice that is transformed with a tremolo effect, aided nicely by the light, brushing drums and the lo-fi twang of guitars.
Personally, I’d have to say that what glows on this album is Polacheck’s voice. It is textured in a variety of palettes. She flies between ranges, softness, moods and always maintains an innocent sweetness that moves forward with confidence. This talent put to the backdrop of Chairlift’s quirky, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and their ability to splice their album into 80s synth pop and darker, mood melodies, truly allows for one of the better releases of the year.
Does You Inspire You is certainly an impressive and diverse album indeed. It showcases a variety of sounds from synth pop to country to folk to trip-hop to power pop. The band in its adolescence may not know exactly what direction their sounds needs to grow into, though they have the talent, idiosyncrasy and ability to mature into something great.
Does You Inspire You is available now through Kanine Records.
Tracklisting:
01. Garbage
02. Planet Health
03. Earwig Town
04. Bruises
05. Somewhere Around Here
06. Evident Utensil
07. Territory
08. Make Your Mind Up
09. Don’t Give A Damn
10. Chameleon Closet
11. Ceiling Wax
Written by: Ali Hussain
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