AWmusic

Historically one-hit wonders were more a result of providence and happenstance. If you were in the right place at the right time, and knew somebody who knew somebody, you could get your single played on a radio station or introduced on the dance floor and before long – if you were lucky – you ushered in your prophetic fifteen minutes of fame.

Today, one hit wonders are programmable. Technology has allowed for both the instantaneous transfer of music and the rapid grassroots impetus needed to be heard. There is no need to leverage yourself into that position anymore, the people charged with selling MP3 players will do that for you.

Modern technology – namely anything associated with Apple – is now the biggest producer of one-hit wonders in the world. The thirty second spot is both where bands go to shine and, shortly thereafter, where bands go to die. (Does the name Steriogram (still) mean anything to anyone?) This means bands are forced to fight against their own blinding sonic supernova and prove they have something musically-worthy and supplementary beyond their 29 seconds of aural notoriety.

Which brings us to Chairlift and their debut album Does You Inspire You. It’s success is driven mainly by the single Bruises having appeared in a Ipod Nano commercial. These singles, by nature, have to be fast, friendly and catchy meaning they will also likely border heavily on juvenile, silly and insipid. Bruises straddles that line warily. Translation: you may soon enough hate it as much as you thought you once loved it. That’s the sheer nature of this beast and that, is rather unfortunate for this band.

It’s not as if this trio, based in Brooklyn, will re-define your taste in music. They aren’t re-inventing the wheel but they are much deeper – and specifically much different – than the impression you might get from a Mac commercial. Their forte is more atmosphere and mystic which makes perfect sense since the band (originally formed in Boulder Colorado) came together to create ambient background music for haunted houses. I suppose that somewhere along the way “handstands” trumped goosebumps.

This leaves us in a bit of quandary. If you loved the first single you’re probably going to love Evident Utensil – actually a much better and rounded song – more than Bruises. It’s as bouncy as the first but goes further in prefacing their musical strengths more sincerely to the listener. Evident Utensil is simply more-Chairlift. Conversely this might also be the starting point in your breakup with what you thought this band was all about. Every song subsequently takes you further and further from what Apple first presented to you.

Those of you in denial, and wanting more simplistic singles that you can pass on to friends and grow tired of as Saturday turns into Tuesday, are advised to try Earwig Town and Garbage. They aren’t nearly as catchy and easy as the early tracks (a compliment) but, if one really needs an aural sugar rush, this will simply have to do.

If this trio can keep your interest long enough for you to realize there’s a reason Baskin-Robbins has so many flavours, then there’s legitimate hope this band might claim more than just the standard one or two tracks on your own Ipod.

If not, add them to the pile of “one hit wonders” who actually prove more about our own short collective attention spans than it does about their genuine ability as musicians.

Chairlift – Evident Utensil
Chairlift – Earwig Town
Chairlift – Garbage

Tags: album, chairlift, Does You Inspire You, Ipod