Chin Up Chin Up’s debut came out exactly four years ago and I completely forgot I had it! A friend of mine had given it to me, because I mentioned the song – that shares the same name as the album, is so lovely I used to listen to it over and over again. And it still is one of the most amazing songs I’ve ever heard. Apparently, it was quite a hit by indie standards for a while when it first came out. Sadly, this album is also known, because bass player Chris Saathoff passed away in a car accident before its completion. I’ve listened to We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers a couple of times now and it’s wonderful, but the stand out song is still the title song.

No part of the song seems to be meant as background noise, it’s build like a wall of sound in which every brick, whether it be the back up vocals or the drum machine, is played at maximum volume. Normally, I’m not a fan of breathy, husky male vocals, but in this song it works, especially when the other voices, which sound strangely robotic, chime in. The repetitive melodies, the heavy use of electronics, and the strong beat are echoed in more recent bands like Foals. The lyrics are a mystery. I know it’s in English, but it makes no sense to me. Well, if the chorus really is ‘paralyzed teeth and trial sized feet transfer the call and lie and your back’, I don’t think we’re meant to know what it’s all about. Not without some sort of decoder ring.

   Chin Up Chin Up – We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers