When one is as well-traveled as Caroline Polachek, it’s probably hard to be “impressed” by much of any milieu. After all, this is the girl who lived in Tokyo during her early years—an influence that was perhaps obfuscated by then being relegated to Greenwich, CT. But, as those in the know are aware, all the faux rebellious girls live in Greenwich, dipping into NYC (where, like Lizzy Grant, Polachek was born—the day before her, in fact) to unleash some of that pent-up repression on the weekend and then go back to being a docile ducky when Monday arrives.
Which is exactly what Polachek did when she went to concerts and got a taste of the “rock n’ roll” lifestyle long enough to know that she wanted to be part of it (hence, Chairlift). And yes, Polachek was obviously a rich girl, which is why she can talk about (with a straight face) things like how horseback riding taught her a lot about rhythm with regard to understanding music. Clearly, it must be true—for “Sunset” is yet another shining addition to her list of recently released singles (including “Bunny Is A Rider,” “Billions” and “Last Days: Non Voglio Mai Vedere Il Sole Tramontare”), all of which will likely comprise some of what turns out to be her second solo record (or fourth, if you want to count her work as Ramona Lisa and CEP, which many do).
Unlike “Billions” and “Non Voglio Mai Vedere Il Sole Tramontare,” “Sunset” is filled with much more palpable levity—and, incidentally, acknowledges ultimately surrendering to what that Italian song title translates to: “I Never Want to See the Sun Set.” But, of course, it must. And what better time to release such a single than fall, when the sun starts to set ever earlier? Yet there is nothing “bleak” or “unhappy” about “Sunset,” with its up-tempo, jubilant notes accented by a Spanish flavor that automatically makes one think of “La Isla Bonita” (for Madonna is apparently not the only white girl with appropriative machinations when it comes to Spanish culture).
And, as a Spanish-influenced track, Polachek, who co-directed the video with Matt Copson, favors a collage-oriented aesthetic that overlaps scenes and images mostly involving her walking through the streets of an ultra color-saturated Barcelona—evidently one of the cities that can still “charm” her despite what is sure to be an expected veneer of New York jadedness after having “seen the world, done it all.” Singing lyrics like, “So no regrets/‘Cause you’re my sunset, fiery red/Forever fearless/And in your arms a warm horizon/Don’t look back/Let’s ride away, let’s ride away [Bunny is, after all, a rider],” one can’t help but hear, in the same intonation, “Tropical the island breeze/All of nature wild and free/This is where I long to be/La isla bonita.” And that’s clearly where Polachek longs to be as well, also spending part of the day among the sandy beach (complete with a scene of a sand sculpture being perfected into a face). Just another perk of a rare breed of city like Barcelona, offering the beach life in addition to its metropolitan life.
And while Polachek roams around it in a white crocheted beanie looking like an Amy Winehouse-ified (because Polachek’s heavy eyeliner is more manicured in precision) version of Beth Orton, we can automatically feel the transfer of her affinity for this place. As for the Orton comparison, it’s not just that Polachek looks so much like her, but that her acoustic vibe in this song harkens back to Orton’s 1999 hit, “Stolen Car.” And that’s how Polachek drives her own in the video—like it was stolen. Her elfin ears peeping out from behind her hair like she’s Grimes or some shit, Polachek barrels down the road as though she’s got nothing left to lose, Thelma and Louise-style. Bumper stickers also pay homage to certain of her song titles (e.g., Bunny Is A Driver), while other stickers are just an insight into her personality (e.g., I’d Rather Be Playing Magic the Gathering and Welcome to My Island—possibly also a future song title hint).
Reminiscent in its own way of Giulia Y Los Tellarini’s “Barcelona” (which, alas, is best known for being constantly played in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona), the upbeat and repetitive string instrumentations of her thin-body acoustic guitar are ironically contrasted against the depiction of a languid day that concludes with her tanning topless on her rooftop as she draws serenely in her notebook. For, you see, in a place like Spain, art is not deemed a “frivolous” “hobby” as it is in the U.S.
At another point in the song, the exuberant flow is contrasted by a lyric like, “I’m wearing black to mourn the sudden loss of innocence.” This being perhaps a loose reference to the death of her father in 2020 from COVID-19. But where Polachek really cuts to the emotional core is with her series of repeated, high-pitched “ooo-ooo-ooo-ooos” toward the middle (and end) of the song as we see her walking amongst the street crowd as just another face in it. By the end of the video, however, it’s apparent she’s found her tribe, putting her clothes back on to join some revelers dancing as the sun sets.
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