CHANDELIERS is what happens when a quartet of dudes from Chicago art-rock bands (ICY DEMONS, KILLER WHALES and MICHAEL COLUMBIA, among them) decide to escape the city’s notoriously brutal winters by making nothing but shimmering, beach-ready electronic jams. Holed up in the studio with racks of analog gear and classic synths—and guided by the spirits of Can, Kraftwerk, and Herbie Hancock—they’ve created three albums full of startlingly lush soundscapes, along the way receiving praise from XLR8R, 20 Jazz Funk Greats and The Wire, who called them “music for a perfect world, the soundtrack for a club where the dawn never comes and the lights are never turned on.” Founding Fathers, released June 19 on Captcha Records, is the fourth jewel in chandeliers’ lovingly hand-crafted crown: 10 tracks of luminous Balearic electro-funk for the Nintendo generation. From the orange-aura’d opener “New Times” through the hazy pop-locked dream of “Tropical Pocket” and the shoegazing techno-meets-Prince skronk of “Singularity,” Chandeliers pull deep in their pockets to distill the sound of summer sun and Technicolor loft parties that last deep into the night. While deeply inspired by their involvement in artist loft/punk collective the Shape Shoppe, the Chandeliers take a diy aesthetic and marry it to smoothed-out arrangements that are perfectly ready for your avant-disco dancefloor. It’s clear this foursome has deep record collections—you can hear echoes of rhythm from Liquid Liquid, acid house, and Arthur Russell, as well as soaring synth melodies plausibly inspired by Roger & Zapp or Tangerine Dream. Founding Fathers is a warm, luxuriant joyride of an album, the Xanax-like antidote to a robot world of overblown anthems and blog-house bangers. Breathe deep, and dive in.
