The CMJ showcase festival in New York, October 2008. Your man on the spot reports: ‘The first highlight of CMJ is Chairlift, a trio from Brooklyn that creates something tasty with equal portions of Fleetwood Mac, The The and Tears For Fears. Have meanwhile already left New York again to tour with Yeasayer. This is a band to keep an eye on’.
Fast forward to Spring 2009. In the psychedelic wake of MGMT, Yeasayer, Amazing Baby and Empire Of The Sun, Chairlift's debut ‘Does You Inspire You’ is making its way into the record cabinet of many a music freak. The thing that makes this trio around singer Caroline Polachek different is the merciless pop-feel with which Polachek gets under the skin of Alison Goldfrapp one moment and chooses Nico as source of inspiration the next. Inspiring indeed.
Superlijm is the band established around song-maker Pieter-Jan Delesie. Balancing between electronica and acoustic dirge, Superlijm sings about heroes from the 90's and electronic circuits. Dreaming is the guiding line throughout, as well as the desire to return to the 90's and the age of 9 years old. Hits like 'I Wanna Be A Cowboy' and 'Don't Dare To Touch My Milky Way' were already part of the playlist in his head back then. Fourteen years later, Superlijm (who has now outgrown his bowl cut) figured it was time to protect the world from an attack by aliens only he is aware of, by building a supersonic wall of sound. Perfect pop that tends toward Chairlift.
CHAIRLIFT ‘Planet Health’