Chairlift

Chairlift was an American synth-pop band formed in 2005 by Caroline Polachek and Aaron Pfenning while they lived in Boulder, Colorado; Patrick Wimberly joined after the group relocated to Brooklyn in 2007. Their 2008 debut album Does You Inspire You brought them wider attention when the track «Bruises» was featured in a national Apple iPod Nano commercial, introducing their bright, hooky electro-pop sound to a mainstream audience.

Pfenning left in 2010, and Chairlift continued as the duo of Polachek and Wimberly, sharpening their sound into something more idiosyncratic and adventurous. Their 2012 album Something, featuring «Amanaemonesia» and «I Belong in Your Arms», paired warm melodicism with unusual arrangements, while 2016's Moth, with tracks like «Ch-Ching» and «Romeo», leaned into a sleeker, more maximalist pop production.

Throughout their run, Chairlift built a reputation as a distinctive voice in art-pop and synth-pop, with Polachek's expressive vocals and songwriting becoming a defining element. The duo announced Chairlift's end in December 2016, after which Polachek went on to a prominent solo career and Wimberly continued producing for other artists.