Chairlift. Something LP

Chairlift Something

2012, Kanine Records

by Martin White

7.5 / 10

Perhaps adult alternative is the next thing for hipsters to attach to and exploit for its irony.  With Something, Chairlift may have beaten everyone to the punch, though.  Their new LP is filled with the kind of smooth pop that shouldn't be cool.  They create an immaculately clean aesthetic, just a little reminiscent of the sound that Steely Dan aimed for; their knack for simple hooks recalls the quirky catchiness of synth-pop veterans Junior Boys.  But Chairlift's sound is much warmer and more human, anchored by a deep, pulsing low end and expressive vocal performances from Caroline Polachek.  

Her impressive range allows her to shift and transform her voice to match the needs of each particular song.  Occasionally, Chairlift relies a bit too much on Polachek's ethereal vocal to make something out of a song like "Turning."  However, the new-wave / dream-pop of "I Belong in Your Arms" succeeds because of her precocious, earnest refrain.  However, Polachek and Patrick Wimberly do create some deceptively strong musical arrangements, always knowing just when to throw in some foreign instrumentation to the confident mix of bass, drums, and synthesizer.  Album highlight "Wrong Opinion" is propelled by its persistent post-punk bass, but the metallic, clattering percussion is what really separates the song from the rest.  It's a moment of revelation that takes a nice, moody piece of new wave and gives it a shock of suspense with a sound straight out of an eighties action-comedy soundtrack. The introduction of a lightly strummed acoustic guitar on "Frigid Spring" initially sounds out of place, but Polachek quickly makes her case as the female James Mercer as she delivers summery verses that are reminiscent of early Shins.  

The entirety of the first half of Something is pretty inscrutable, each of the first six tracks are brimming smart hooks and impressive songwriting.  On tracks like like "Sidewalk Safari" and  "Take it Out on Me," the funky, head-nodding beats are excellent vessels for sparkling synthesizer figures and Polachek's playful vocals.  But it's not all bubbly synth-pop; on "Ghost Tonight," the beat's underlying nineties R&B influence is revealed in full in the chorus' huge gymnastics chorus.  And the gauzy, moody, shadowy neo-soul of "Cool as a Fire" would not sound out of place alongside Sade's "No Ordinary Love;" it's a song that surely has more to do with adult contemporary than the current indie pop trends, but the influences are incorporated so neatly that you don't bother to stop and notice.  

Something is not without flaws, however, as the quality of the second side drops off substantially.  There is the awkward "Met Before," which matches somewhat tuneless verses with a far-too-effervescent refrain.  It's a song that sounds like it is just trying as hard as it can to be a single.  Unfortunately, you can't create a chorus out of nothing.  "Amanaemonesia" opens with a tumbling bassline, but the vocals never quite match up with the jittery rhythm before the song disjointedly drops into its cloying chorus.  The overarching focus of the record holds it together in the end, though.  There is a lot of variety here, but every song feels distinctly part of the world of sound that Chairlift has crafted.  A lot of that is thanks to Polachek's charisma, but also to the consistent rhythms and beats that worm their way into the back of your head. It's an intoxicating sound that sticks with me in a way that most indie pop does not.