Review Summary: A long, droning album that finds its feet quickly, and then loses it.
Superheaven's Ours Is Chrome opens up with I've Been Bored, an incredible track with choruses complimented by loud, droning guitars, and monotone verses backed with simple, slow riffs. After listening to the first track, I found myself truly believing that Ours Is Chrome would be continuing exactly where 2013's "Jar" left off. The grungy vibe paired with emotional lyrics and soothingly calm vocals seemed to be a perfect fit, while the variety between the songs kept you entertained. With Ours Is Chrome, I can not say the same. The lyrics are still there, introspective and dark, and so are the tranquilly melodic vocals. The droning, low guitars fill every track and so does the slow drum work that compliments the air of the song very well. However, it's the lack of variety that is its biggest downfall. I could almost be led to believe that this album was all one long, drawn out song. After listening to the album through twice, I couldn't find a single thing that made a song unique from the others, as they all pretty much sounded exactly the same, and there weren't any elements or any sort of experimentation thrown in at all to keep you interested.
It would be a bit extreme to say that they're beating a dead horse, but they certainly aren't pushing themselves in any direction, rather, they are continuing the sound that they've held since the beginning. Except, all the things that made "Jar" a truly amazing album, disappeared on this effort. It still has the same qualities and a similar overall aesthetic, however what made "Jar" unique was the experimentation on each track and the use of different guitar tones and sounds, and having a clear change in tempo rather than having the same mid paced track over and over again. What Jar had to keep the album from sounding terribly monotonous and boring, Ours Is Chrome lacks. It was the variety that filled it with air, but with Ours Is Chrome, they took the oxygen from their lungs and tried to keep breathing.
I've Been Bored was the shining star on this album, but from then on, I truly can't say that another track caught my attention or brought something new to the table. While I can't say that there was a "bad" song on this album, every track was very average and lacked any bit of distinct qualities to keep me interested. If you liked Jar, you may be a bit disappointed with this album, however I can still see that there will be quite a few people that can truly enjoy it, despite its flaws.
