Chairlift

Instant celebrity is a double-edged sword, and today's saturated culture has become a veritable killing field of bands who have been made momentary media darlings, only to be cut down as soon as that episode of The OC has faded from memory. Brooklyn electro-pop outfit Chairlift — you know, that band from the bouncing, Technicolor iPod commercial — is intimately familiar with the sunny side of that concept. Steve Jobs launched the band, already gaining popular and critical support through a healthy regimen of live shows, into the eyes and ears of every household in America, where singer Caroline Polachek's beguiling voice and the insanely catchy pop sheen of Chairlift's slightly spacey indie-tronica started the blogosphere atwitter. So far, Chairlift has been able to ride the edge without getting cut, though only time will tell. Its full-length debut, 2008's Does You Inspire You, recently re-released through Columbia, ranked highly on many year-end lists, and today Chairlift often supports similarly pop-ular acts like Peter, Bjorn & John on tour. Perhaps all those iPods the group helped sell are returning the favor.