JUST CHILLIN' Aaron Pfenning, Patrick Wimberly and Caroline Polachek (from left) put a creepy spin on classic pop.

Photograph: Ross Fraser

Most of what America knows of Chairlift so far is edited into a 30-second iPod nano commercial featuring the band’s song “Bruises.” You’d never guess from this synth-pop love ditty that the Brooklyn trio formed with the desire to make music for haunted houses. “Bruises,” however well it works with images of floating MP3 players in a rainbow of colors, just doesn’t represent the ghostly nature of Chairlift’s overall sound.

Sitting at Bedford Avenue’s Blackbird Parlour, the band’s three members agree that the ebullient pop song is an anomaly on Does You Inspire You, its debut album. “People might be surprised if they hear it and then come to our show and see what we’re really like,” says singer Caroline Polachek, 23. She explains that Chairlift began when she and bandmate Aaron Pfenning, 24, were students at the University of Colorado, making demos that imitated soundtracks for films by David Lynch and his ilk. “We abandoned any sort of structure,” she recalls, “and we were running our vocals through delay effects, using wet textures and stuff.” At the same time, Pfenning and Polachek were conceiving the staples of their repertoire, like the drawn-out “Deer Hunt,” a song about a former insane asylum, on which Pfenning coos the line “somewhere around here there are witches.” Meanwhile, the pair discovered a plethora of techniques for maximum sonic spook. “Less is more,” says Polachek with authority. “A single note hovering can be creepier than a whole load of noisy, startling sounds.”

Had its members not moved to NYC in 2006, Chairlift may have remained an exercise in ambience. But when Polachek decided to attend art school at NYU, Pfenning followed, and the two began playing at small clubs around Williamsburg and the Lower East Side. Drummer Patrick Wimberly, 25, another transplanted friend from CU, joined the band after seeing it perform at Cake Shop on Ludlow Street. Chairlift began to hover around the exploding Brooklyn society of psychedelic-leaning groups that includes nationally beloved acts MGMT and Yeasayer. Soon, it was logging time in a Chelsea studio, watching its nebulous sound develop into loosely arranged, catchy pop. “We realized that these creepy sounds we were using could be good for all kinds of situations and songs,” says Polachek. As a result, the trio came up with a set of catchy, accessible tunes that incorporated their love of supernatural sonics. Still, they insist there is room to shuffle things around. “We’re still working on songs that are finished and on the record,” says Polachek. “Nothing is ever set in stone for us.”

Chairlift plays Music Hall of Williamsburg Dec 5. Does You Inspire You is out now.

Buy Does You Inspire You now on BN.com

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