I Can’t Do This Anymore

Alphabeat “Chess”

Alphabeat have changed significantly on a superficial level, jettisoning all traces of rock from their sound and diving deep into glossy ’90s pop, but the core of their project remains the same. Alphabeat are nostalgists, and whether they are lifting from Kenny Loggins or channeling Ace of Base, they draw on the power of songs that present a glamorous fantasy version of ordinary life. As they made clear on “Fascination,” their debut single that now more than ever reads like the Alphabeat manifesto, they care deeply about escapism, and in our power to invest our lives with the magic and excitement of fiction.

To some extent, their work suggests that our experience as adults are shaped by the narratives of the pop music of our youth. Think of it this way: What was your first exposure to people openly discussing love, sex, and romance, both the good and bad of it? In most cases, you probably gleaned this stuff from what you heard on the radio, mostly intuiting the emotional meaning of the music without totally connecting with the context or subtext. We internalize the narratives, and then on some level expect the patterns to emerge in our lives and/or actively attempt to live it out. This is the basis for Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance,” though she’s deliberately focused on the glamor of self-destructive behavior, whereas Alphabeat aim for something far more wholesome, though equally dramatic.

“Chess” is about a complicated emotional scenario, but as much as the lyrics express frustration and anxious anticipation, the music is nothing but pleasure. The band streamline difficult situations to the most exciting elements, rendering it all as desirable soap opera drama. There’s an implication of the stakes being high, but that’s just to keep it fun — the real appeal is in the safety of feeling like these romantic entanglements don’t actually matter at all, and that there’s nothing messy in life that can’t be cleaned up and turned into an enjoyable storyline.

Buy it from CD Wow.