"Chromatics were originally described as a no-wave band but have since been associated with a slow, dark and dreamy take on the Italo Disco sub-genre."
... 'slow,dark and dreamy' rang my bell so I checked this lot out on Spotify.
Italo-disco was an early 80's pre-cursor to house, led by Italian label ZXY, generating lo-fi pop based around the new drum machines and synthesisers. It's enjoying a fashionable clubland renaissance right now, as we continue to evolve, mash, and diverge from all things electronic.
Generally, Chromatics play blue-filtered synth pop which gratifyingly evokes many of the currently electronica giants - variously swinging between sounds similar to the XX, James Blake, Blondes, Bonobo, Crystal Castles... but without the eccentric flair of any of those, perhaps by design aiming for a more accessible pop vector.
The XX's 2009 debut was such a massive, globally gravity-shaking moment, that it must surely be hard for any vaguely similar act in their wake to avoid casual accusations of derivation. The Chromatics, however, date back further, birthed out of the Portland lo-fi punk scene, but by degrees and line-up rotation morphing into today's uber-cool quartet. 2007's surperb Night Drive was a major step forward and the new album continues that sound.
Counter-intuitively, album Kill for Love begins with Neil Young cover "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)" - deconstructed as a spaced-out, slowed down pop ballad. Clever. It works as a track, but I'm not yet convinced about the placement.
Counter-intuitively, album Kill for Love begins with Neil Young cover "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)" - deconstructed as a spaced-out, slowed down pop ballad. Clever. It works as a track, but I'm not yet convinced about the placement.
The first half tends toward indie-ghhirrl vocals, with simple, sequenced rhythms, and cutesy harmonies... as noted above, often suggesting the XX but without the latter's righteous minimalism. This is best evidenced on "The Page" - shimmering and reberb laden, spare melodies on the electic guitar echo to and fro with the vocal, noise washes and heartbreak.
"If I could only be your lady, baby you could be my man... " - "Lady" struts the sort of densely acidised, electro synth wielded by Crystal Castles, here worked into another sparse, indie-electronica-cum-disco bite.
"These Streets Will Never Look the Same" has heavily vocoder-ed voice, is reminiscent of Tears for Fears - that 80's tragi-romantic vibe, pulsing with simple layered synth patterns.
In the middle, the album turns the heat way down, slowing up into broken, ultra-sparse electro-hymns, the guitar leaving large gaps washed instead by synth, or just air. Then the album rolls back to into more of the moody synth-pop.
It's quite a strong work, but overall it falters slightly and i'm tired of it by the three-quarter mark. What goes wrong? I think they never get big enough, though the second last track nearly gets there - "There's a Light Out on the Horizon" - it's instantly filmic in feel, using the classic (selectively anachronistic?) answerphone message sample motif, and some sweet, amply volumous bass work.
Thus... bittersweet easy listening for the nu-goths, early euro-pop geeks, and net-cafe surfers.
Best tracks: The Page, These Streets Will Never Look the Same, Birds of Paradise.
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