The duo of Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall had their rise to fame back in 2014 from the song, “selfie,” which blew up during the time electronic music really became mainstream in the U.S. They were picked up by Dim Mak records (of Steve Aoki fame — form your own opinions there…) and were propelled into the spotlight. Since then they’ve slalomed from single to single and continued to find success among a growing audience of electronic/pop fans.
Eventually they release the album, “Memories…Do Not Open,” on April 7th, 2017 to VERY poor reviews. They were slammed across the board from Pitchfork to Rollingstone, to the New York Times , dropping bombs like, “lyrics, which resemble hastily texted missives from a friend who never asks you how you’re doing while endlessly railing about the woes of his not-really-that-bad life, are artless pouts about fame being hard and about feeling being misunderstood,” and “Most songs here moan about brittle young relationships over the musical equivalent of bringing an amiable golden retriever along for an unhurried jog.”
It’s the new hotness to pile on the Chainsmokers, which apparently has some merit. However, that does beg the question, did anyone really think they were talented superstars to begin with, or did they just stumble into a formula that just sort of “worked?” I think that’s why we love the video below so much: