This week , the melancholy terpsichore - pop strike " Closer " by EDM - lite duo the Chainsmokers became the big strain of 2016 . With11 workweek and countingat the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart , the caterpillar track , which features wistful vocal part from 22 - class - old Tumblr - preferred Halsey , has now surpassed anthem by far more famous musician , like Drake ’s " One Dance , " Rihanna ’s " oeuvre , " and Sia ’s " Cheap Thrills . "
" Closer " is far from a good luck : It ’s the latest step in a cautiously diagram pursuit to command the charts with sad - eyed clubhouse pop . Yet to many , Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall , the well - coiffed ( andKISS - lie with ) duo behind the project , are still just two random swell who make clearly bum - out music showcasing unseasoned , smoky - voiced distaff Isaac M. Singer ( " Do n’t allow Me Down " with Daya , " All We eff " with Phoebe Ryan , and " Roses " with Rozes all charted in the past year ) . Since they ’re not going away anytime shortly , here ’s what you need to have it away about the amazingly controversial guys know as the Chainsmokers .
So, what makes “Closer” so special?
More than anything , " Closer " feels like the windup of the Chainsmokers ' careful , market - savvy beta - examination . The duo ’s biggest hit combine vaguely home - similar dance - medicine textures with proven pop body structure , miningGrey ’s Anatomy - expressive style pity from lyrics about provisionary hotel - bar flirtations , bobble hookup , and spite feelings . They ’re designed to be recognizable . ( In fact , " Closer " sounded so much like The Fray ’s " Over My Head ( Cable Car ) " that the Denver tilt band was retroactively move over asongwriting credit . )
Because of its poetry - trading male - distaff vocal parts and flavor of delicate despair , " Closer " prompt me of Gotye and Kimbra ’s " Somebody That I Used to Know " and Peter Bjorn & John ’s " Young ethnic music " when I first see it . depend on when you spend the large portion of your life in a shopping mall , your reference detail may vary .
Of the Chainsmokers ' mainstream hits , " Closer " is the most emotionally tangible banger . With lyric about cities like Boulder and Tucson , the softly murmured Bible have a specific good sense of position that helps them rise above the din of your friend ’s generic tropic - house Spotify playlist . In the 2d verse , Halsey name - checks Blink-182 , which should gain the nostalgia perfumed spot for " I just bought a Chemex " millennials pin for their soda water - punk youth . Plus , Taggart ’s delivery of " Baby , pull me nearer in the backseat of your Rover " might be the most conspicuous SUV vociferation - out since Nelly ’s " Ride Wit Me . " Unlike the drop - ghost euphory of first - undulation pop - dubstep pioneer , the song ’s nonpayment mode is both sensual and deflated .
C Flanigan/Contributor/WireImage/Getty Images
Even if you ’re a terpsichore - music novice who does n’t cognise Tiësto from Diplo , it ’s wanton to get pull into the blandly chill orbit of " Closer . " While compose this story , I listened to the song dozens of times on repeat , and I still curtsy my head when it dispatch that chintzy , wordless refrain . The video , with its turned on but tastefulUndressed - corevisuals , recalls Justin Bieber ’s " What Do You Mean ? " minus its action - moving picture measure , skateboarding interlude , and John Leguizamo cameo . As a birdsong , it ’s as unobtrusive as a screensaver . As a mark of where pop music might be headed in the next few years , it ’s a mildly unnerving bellwether .
But what are they like as people?
The loose fashion to understand why the succeeder of the Chainsmokers is maddening to some is to read writer Chris Martins’cover storyabout the duo inBillboard . Here are just a few uncomplimentary quotes Taggart and Pall drop over the course of action of the slice :
" We storm every night . "
" We ’re way too good at drinking . "
" Only Justin Bieber and Drake can deem a candle to what we ’ve done . "
" Even before success , kitty-cat was number one . "
" That ’s our phallus combined … crown to bakshis . "
ChainsmokersVEVO/YouTube
At one point in time , the article says Taggart was inspired by Jeremy Piven’sEntouragecharacter Ari Gold . It ’s like a profile of a sentient puka shell . Like many mod bros , the Chainsmokers areself - effacingabout their status as pa ’s reigning beer - niff kings . AsNPRmusic critic Ann Powers note , they ’ve germinate as musicians and songwriter since their bauble strain " # Selfie " first crashed the pop charts in 2014 , but their reliance on female vocalizer still comes with some slippery ambiguities . " It can be backbreaking to enjoin if male DJs centering their work on women ’s ego - formula is exploitation , recompense or the return of the repressed , " she writes .
For the vocalists who appear on Chainsmokers tracks , the hope is clearly that the group ’s chart - topping singles will make a undulation of hype for them to twit in their own lucrative solo careers . For case , Daya , the Isaac Bashevis Singer heard on " Do n’t Let Me Down , " released her own idiosyncratic pop albumSit Still , await Prettyback in October . It ’s unclear if she ’ll be able-bodied to mimic the success of the Chainsmokers , but she ’s off to a good start .
Get used to them
What does all this medium tending mean value for the Chainsmokers ? Bigger collaboration and bigger festival spot , probably . The duette may continue along the big - name disc jockey path they ’re presently on , but it ’s also potential they ’ll shoot for for a more mainstream brand of success than late EDM phenomenon like Avicii , Skrillex , and Calvin Harris . Despite feud withLady GagaandMark Ronsonin late week – a conflict spurred after Pall knock her individual " Perfect Illusion " in aRolling Stoneinterview– many other in high spirits - visibility artist are now seeking them out . In interviews , they ’ve hinted at collaborations with turn like Big Sean , Weezer , Linkin Park , and Coldplay ’s Chris Martin . In a pop - music landscape that finger progressively data point - drive , Taggart and Pall have come along to collapse the code .
The question start forward will be if the Chainsmokers can alternate their hitmaking rep into a more traditionally " good " image as serious , album - oriented artists – or if they ’re even concerned in that . Why stress over build a legacy when you’re able to travel the globe and party your elbow room to the top of the charts ? For now , they ’re releasing theirCollageEP on Friday , breast feeding theirrockstar injuries , and tweeting outIt ’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiascreenshots . You fuck , typical buster shit . They would n’t have it any other way .
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