CHAIRLIFT play the Horseshoe March 28. See listing. Rating: NNN
It’s been nearly four years since Chairlift scored modest crossover success, a major label deal and prime placement in an iPod commercial – recently enough to capitalize on name recognition but long enough ago to escape categorization as “that iPod band.” That leaves a relatively clean slate for the Brooklyn electro-pop duo’s sophomore album, on which they replace their earlier shifting identity with one firmly grounded in 80s revival.
On slick, feckless romance ballads like I Belong In Your Arms, that rooted-in-the-past sound can seem like empty nostalgia, but it blooms with freshness when used as a springboard for experimentation. Opening track Sidewalk Safari, for instance, is a bouncy, irresistible pop number from the perspective of a maniac running someone down with her car, while lead single Amanaemonesia uses dark Bauhaus-esque vocals to explore modern rituals (and, in the video, dance routines).
Top track: Sidewalk Safari
