Chandeliers / Happy Survival: January 2009

A pretty accurate description of our debut LP "the Thrush" (via pitchforkmedia.com):

"While there's not a deafening public outcry for mostly instrumental Moog-laden space-funk right now, Chandeliers breathe new life into some familiar sounds on their debut, The Thrush. Members of stalwart Chicago acts like Mahjongg, Icy Demons, and Mucca Pazza lend their talents to the group, and they manage to borrow elements from all without sounding anything like these precedents. With the mysterious echo of vibraphone, the studious pitter-pat of fluid basslines, sophisticated rhythms, and chilly and cerebral atmosphere, it's sound and feel will be familiar (especially to native Chicagoans), but this is more insistent and less heady-- Chandeliers mostly want you to dance, in your own stilted, highly disciplined way.

Mechanical chirps and machine-like bass keyboards lean on some busy but very human drum work on opener "Mr. Electric", a track full of dropped beats and rhythmic twists and turns that amidst its steady momentum and progressively more layered and melodic keyboards. Watery tones play repetitive, circular themes over the stiff funk of the brief "Maldonado", but "Mango Tree" sticks around long enough for a few different modes: hushed percussion and nearly whispered vocals before, slick Ray-Ban-ready keyboard melodies, and cartoonish day-glo funk. The electronic tones of tracks like "Big League" fall into place like pistons in an engine, while both muttered vocal suggestions and subtle horn accompaniment color the moderate groove of "Gold Rush" as it quietly builds towards its ascending melody.

The bass is deeper and the vibe darker on "Bamboo", while it's springy keyboard tones retain a smirk while it's echo-laden vibraphones add unexpected texture-- though by the record's end, a little guitar and junkyard percussion doesn't do much to spice up the sparse "Graffiti", and the loopy march of "Body Double (UK Mix)" only raises the record's pulse slightly. The final moments of The Thrush maintain a vibe and atmosphere at the cost of growing repetitive. While it's only steps away from post-rock, Chandeliers have taken these elements their own way for a more distinctive whole, and a surprisingly cohesive album. It's both moody and danceable, but far more of the former."