The more I listen to Chairlift, the more I like them. I had listened to this 3-person Brooklyn band a little bit before seeing them at Chop Suey on Monday night and had watched their “Planet Health” video (which everyone should check out since it is just a wee bit strange and a little trippy). With lyrics such as, “I visited the food pyramid/In the desert of vitamins/I found a desired heart rate/And a mouth to resuscitate,” who can resist being a little intrigued?
On their 2008 album Does You Inspire You, lead singer Caroline Polachek impresses with her rich and eclectic vocals (check out “Territory” and “Make Your Mind Up"). I was actually surprised that the owner of this voice belonged to a slightly nerdy, skinny girl wearing a huge 1980s-inspired dress shirt complete with sequins. She spent the evening hovering over her keyboard, at times aggressively bobbing her head to the more upbeat songs. Their performance of “Evident Utensil” and “Bruises,” their most popular song so far due to iPod commercials, were the highlights of the evening. These two very danceable numbers had the most power of all the songs in their set. Polachek playfully explores her high vocal range while bandmate Aaron Pfenning contrasts her with his deep, breathy vocals. However, I found myself disappointed that their sound came out muddled due to the not-so-great sound system at Chop Suey.
Chairlift’s performance at Chop Suey was short and sweet. But in that short 30-minute time span that they were on stage, you could see the flickers of the greatness that Chairlift might one day achieve.
DOWNLOAD: Chairlift - Evident Utensil (MP3) or Follow us for more Chairlift MP3s (Twitter)
Oh I see. I was wondering if you were talking about the picture. Really glad you liked it. Have you checked her out yet?
by Colin on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 02.29 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
yes! The interview is great, and the photo shows off the glow
by Ian on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 01.29 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
Great post! Really digging the new record a lot. The Rainwater LP has some gorgeous moments - definitely recommend checking it out. There are 3 of the new songs up on the myspace page: myspace.com/citizencope
by MattKlomp on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 03.16 am from the entry: Citizen Cope - Paradise Theater (Boston, MA; Feb. 27, 2010 )
haha is that a compliment?
by colin on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.49 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
love that melophobe has more “couples” reviewers, and more “Ian/Ion/Ian/Iain” than the average site…
by Ian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.48 pm from the entry: sevendust + drowning pool + digital summer + the flood - showbox market (seattle, WA; Mar 07, 2010
you’re positively glowing in this interview, Colin
by Ian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.46 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
Hey Merseilles did a live web show at sonicbirds office gig on Friday that was pretty spectacular. Can anyone find a copy of that?
by Smallweed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 11.40 am from the entry: SXSW Send Off Show - Visqueen + Hey Marseilles - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Mar. 5, 2010)
You have some nice photos here. I was at that show, too. I was disappointed in the sound system, but there was a sound guy moving back and forth between the floor and the boards, so I appreciate the effort he made. It sounded to my ears like all the kinks were worked out by the time Sebastien Tellier played; what do you think? If Chairlift had played a few more songs, we might have gotten to hear them with better sound quality, but I still thoroughly enjoyed their five-song set.