Review Summary: RIYL: sexy night drives, dancing with a lover and slowly bobbing your head wishing for this perfect moment never to end, a modern retelling of Loveless, losing track of time
Before strolling into the dark of Chromatics second full-length, I felt myself wondering
Hey this 90-minute album looks far too long to be enjoyable... Thankfully, I came to my senses, gave
Kill For Love my hand, and drove blindly into what has proven to be an extraordinarily engaging, interesting, and cigarette-smoke-clogged listen. Don’t let the length fool you, it’s is a meticulously crafted masterpiece that combines indie-pop ebullience, synth bliss, and post-punk dread into a package that simultaneously teaches you lessons about sorrow, ecstasy, and rock & roll. Or at the very least- it’s really fuc
king chill.
Known best as the providers of the backbone to 2011’s Drive soundtrack, Chromatics build on this synthy, moody atmosphere by incorporating catchy standouts like the spectacular title track, as well as drawn-out epics and hazy slow-burners. The album plays on the popularity of releases like M83’s
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming while maintaining an identity of its own, thankfully. This is convenient, because
Kill For Love can be compared to the aforementioned double-album in more ways, such as its go-for-broke length. It’s in this facet I find answer to the complaints of
Kill For Love being bloated: rather than overstuffed with goodness, Chromatics have crafted something that tends to lose itself in time. Tracktimes go by the wayside when one loses themselves in Ruth Radelet’s crooning on “Back From The Grave” or the constant ticking in the background of “These Streets Will Never Look the Same.” It’s a timeless album; this is true both in the way that time seems to be a non-factor throughout as well as in the ecstasy of
Kill For Love that make me feel like I’ll still be jamming their cover of Neil Young’s “Into The Dark” 20 years down the road, when I’ve long-ago given up on the idyllic world of a world on Molly epitomized, here.
Front-loaded for power, Chromatics’ second release begins as charismatic as can be with a quartet of tracks that have unlimited replay value. But
Kill For Love ebbs and flows fluidly. It brakes from the tour-de-force section with a downshift when “Broken Mirrors” and “Running From The Sun” reinforce the band’s ability to hold your hand, dance slowly, and hold onto those fleeting moments of perfection. It takes hold and never lets go. What’s more, there rarely is any sort of climax throughout the 90-minute whirlwind, which is both odd and fitting. Rather, the album sways to and fro slowly and sleekly-- and before you know it, you’ve been hit with what is bound to be one of the best albums to be released for a long time. Aptly-named closer “No Escape” strikes you with the silky smoothness of a chocolate bar, then quiet waves of synth and harmonized vocals wash over you gently before
Kill For Love bids farewell.
