The dramatic, synth-heavy avant-pop of
Chairlift emerged in 2008 with the album
Does You Inspire You. Featuring whimsical arrangements and the richly ethereal, elastic vocals of
Caroline Polachek, the group expanded their sound for their major-label debut, 2012's
Something, which landed on the Billboard 200. With
Polachek and the only other constant member, producer
Patrick Wimberly, active in other projects and behind the scenes with artists like
Beyoncé and
Solange during the band's tenure,
Chairlift officially disbanded a year after releasing their third and poppiest album, 2016's
Moth.
Both students at the University of Colorado in Boulder at the time,
Caroline Polachek and Aaron Pfenning formed
Chairlift in 2005 with the aim of providing music for haunted houses. After finding that their work transcended its original purpose, they pulled up stakes and headed east, settling in Brooklyn before adding third member
Patrick Wimberly. They quickly made a name for themselves, playing shows with similar up-and-comers like
MGMT and
Yeasayer while inking a contract with the independent label Kanine.
Chairlift's first release on the label, a single titled "Evident Utensil," featured a remix by
MGMT and was a precursor to the group's full-length debut. Issued in 2008,
Does You Inspire You received an extra promotional boost when "Bruises" appeared in a commercial for a popular tech company. By early 2009, major labels came calling and
Chairlift signed to
Columbia, which reissued
Does You Inspire You that April. Sophomore album
Something was recorded by the duo of
Polachek and
Wimberly following the departure of Pfenning. Arriving in early 2012, it elevated the band's kaleidoscopic pop to a grander scale with assistance from producers
Dan Carey and
Alan Moulder. The album reached number 184 on the Billboard 200 and ended up on many "Best of 2012" lists. One fan of the record turned out to be
Beyoncé, who invited the duo to help collaborate on songs for Beyoncé. Making it onto the final 2013 album was "No Angel," which
Polachek co-wrote with
Beyoncé and
James Fauntleroy.
Early the next year,
Polachek made her solo debut with
Arcadia (Terrible Records), releasing it under the moniker
Ramona Lisa. Her EP
Dominic followed before the end of 2014, with the three-track Piano Versions arriving in 2015. Meanwhile,
Wimberly mixed albums for
tUnE-yArDs and
Fort Lean, among others, including
Ramona Lisa. Self-produced by the duo, the next
Chairlift LP was their slickest and poppiest album yet. Featuring instrumental input from
Quadron's
Robin Hannibal,
Moth was issued on
Columbia in early 2016.
That year,
Wimberly contributed production and performances to
Solange's number one album
A Seat at the Table,
Blood Orange's
Freetown Sound, and
Wet's
Don't You, while
Polachek co-wrote a track that was included on
Travis Scott's
Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. In January 2017,
Polachek released her first instrumental album,
Drawing the Target Around the Arrow, under her initials,
CEP. She also co-wrote material for releases by
Solange,
Beach Fossils,
Charli XCX, and others that would see release before the end of the year.
Chairlift disbanded in April 2017 following a set of farewell shows, with the final one taking place at Brooklyn Steel. ~ Chris True & Marcy Donelson