Chairlift 

                                                     Something

                                                       7.5/10

Remember Chairlift? You must if you’ve watched TV in 2008 when the dream pop Brooklyn (now) duo made the ultimate crossover to the mainstream with their song “Bruises” from their 2009 debut, Does It Inspire You? Thanks to an iPod commercial, Chairlift received some pretty big exposure. But that was nearly 4 years ago and the band has finally returned with their decent sophomore LP titled Something. 

Although there isn’t anything terrible on Something it doesn’t push any boundaries either. At times, I feel like I’ve heard some of these tracks dozens of times from dozens of other artists. The duo do, however, manage to pull out some pretty fantastic tracks, which makes Something somewhat of a mixed bag. The record starts off very strong with the jittery and psychedelic opening track “Sidewalk Safari,” where lead singer Caroline Polachek’s voice’s shows off its range over stringy guitar riffs and booming synths. “Wrong Opinion” is another nice song that has flashes of brilliant moments — the cool way they layer vocals and the icy sound effects that sound like bandmate Patrick Wimberly is playing the xylophone on a string of icicles.

Things really pick up with the third song (and the best on the record) “I Belong In Your Arms.” New Wave drums beat on around Polachek’s whispery voice as she sings “I belong in your arms/ Feeling so good/ Nothing to say/ Just want your head on your shoulder,” she sexily coos. Another fantastic song follows right after. “Take It Out On Me” is somewhat of a slow jam that has an instant catchy and emotional hook where Polachek’s voice becomes deeper and more confident as she chants, “Forget forgiveness, forget all the rules/ Just lease don’t do it here/ Bring on the fire because business is cruel.”

The rest of Something quickly unravels as the batch of songs quickly bleed into each other. Reverb is heavy and there aren’t many different things happening to keep the tracks sounding distant. Some songs do have bright pings that could be developed into further ideas, such as “Cool As a Fire” and “Met Before.” The closing track also is interesting at times but it fails to carry through the entire way and lags during the verses.

It is clear Polachek is a talented and confident singer. She knows how to change her voice so it suits each song magnificently. The biggest problem with Something is its lack of innovation, memorable melodies and that is is far too long. The band manages to pull of a handfull of great songs, like “I Belong in Your Arms” but the second half of the LP we find the duo struggling to keep that fire lit. If Chairlift cut down the record and removed some of the fluff (“Turning,” “Frigid Spring,” “Ghost Tonight”) then Something would have really been something.     

Listen to the standout track “I Belong In Your Arms” below: