Chairlift - Moth

Chairlift
Moth
2016
Chairlift - Moth

Chairlift's new album Moth starts with "Look Up" which is actually a bit of an outlier. That song is avante garde and plays with rhythm and song structure. The rest of the album does not follow suit. Modern day yacht rock is quite possibly the most apt description of what Chairlift and especially this album are all about. In a genre that championed slickness over substance this record slides perfectly in. Slick is perhaps the best word to describe Moth because it is super smooth synth pop that is effortless in it's coolness. "Ch-Ching" a play on hip hop in both sound and name takes the beat of a hip hop track, throws some sax and synth on it to bring about a song that is so cool it borders on the absurd. The next song and one of the lead singles "Crying in Public" takes more of a pop route, but it is one of the things that Chairlift do so well in straddling the line between Indie and Pop. The songs they write can be appreciated both in their ability connect on the wide scale and drill down to the very specific. "Moth to the Flame" is the catchiest of the tracks and has the best beat to really move your hips to.

There are times on this record however when things can get a bit to twitchy, to eclectic for their own good. "Show U Off" features multiple levels of percussion that seems to crowd things with just far to much. The case really be made that much of the album has a bit to much going on and simplifying it would be an improvement, but that just would not be Chairlift's style. They seem to go their own way regardless of the outcome, the super trippy final track "No Such Thing as Illusion" is proof positive of that. It is quite easy to get lost in this record, you look up and suddenly the 10 tracks have flown by. Maybe you were bobbing your head and getting into it, but it just slips away as. That instant gratification seems to be important when listening to Chairlift. This music is for right now, not yesterday and not tomorrow but appreciating the moment and the vibe that these songs create. This is pop music with a sense of it's place in the world and it wants to tell you something. Take a listen and get wrapped up in the musical world Chairlift creates,

8.1 out of 10