Chairlift

Chairlift
@ Grog Shop, Cleveland, March 13
by Andrew Clayman
Published in The Cleveland Scene, March 2009



If the original breed of hipster was noted for being on the “cutting edge” of pop culture and the arts, today’s mutated, Brooklyn-based hipster is more in the business of upholding his ancestors’ style, or the “classic cutting edge”—oxymoron though it may be. Chairlift is a great example of this phenomenon.

Rising stars in the white hot Brooklyn indie scene (MGMT, Yeasayer, Matt & Kim, Vivian Girls, etc.), Chairlift is a young trio-- two dudes and a lady—that borrows liberally from the sight, sound, and feel of ‘80s synth-pop, namely the likes of Gary Numan, The Human League, and the Chameleons. Feeling a bit gypped perhaps for being mere toddlers during the hey-day of those acts, Chairlift recreates that predominantly British scene with a New York, computer-age backdrop, and it works quite well. Well enough, in fact, that Apple jumped on the band’s ultra-catchy single “Bruises” for a heavily rotated iPod commercial last year. It’s hard to say if Chairlift will ride that ad to stardom as Feist did the year prior, but their current tour could help decide if they’re ready for the mainstream or just three more Brooklyn hipsters with a retro-virus.