Chromatics - Dear Tommy (2018)

oh "on the wall" is a jesus and mary chain cover

on first listen this is absolutely their best album by quite a way (though i don't really rate any of their previous albums much)

Seems like Ruth is more central than on any previous record here.

can confirm the Sound of Silence cover is excellent

"On the Wall" cover is great too. Whole thing is. "Light as a Feather", "Touch Red" and "Through the Looking Glass" are my jams so far.

First impressions:

I love every Chromatics cover they have ever released and Sound of Silence is not an exception, even better is the On the Wall cover, it might be one of the best songs in here.

You’re No Good has that classic Italians Do It Better vibe and it’s probably the most friendly song in here, it might be the only song in here that I’d consider releasing as a single.

It’s subtle but they have definitely evolved their style and I think Light as a Feather and Touch Red are specially interesting and different to everything they have done before. I’m getting a trip hop/shoegaze vibe in them which I didn’t expect to hear in a Chromatics album but I’m liking it on first listen.

Also: That album cover might be one of my favorite ones of the year.

I‘m bummed Dear Tommy was shelved - hopefully not for life - but I agree this might be their best album so far. It’s the most consistent for sure.

the "sound of silence" cover is executed well enough but that song's been so overexposed the last few years i never want to hear it again

it sounds like dear tommy is still planned but who knows when it'll ever arrive lol. apparently "touch red" is "touch blue" from the original dear tommy tracklist but no other tracks from it show up on this

Seems like Ruth is more central than on any previous record here.

― Van Horn Street, Tuesday, October 1, 2019 9:05 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Feels more apparent than ever that Ruth is the starlet to Johnny's director

i think the slight broadening of their sonic palette has really helped them to come into their own and feel less pastiche-y than before here. it's also much more tightly constructed as an album which really helps, and just sounds a lot better production-wise than before too.

love "Touch Red", but "On the Wall", while sounding great, adds nothing to the JAMC

The production has definitely been polished since the last album but the last singles/EPs from 2018/2019 already hinted it (specially liked Camera and Time Rider and had hopes they would make it to an album but alas they wont)

The guitars are specially good in here compared to the ones in Kill For Love which imho were very screechy sounding.

my guess is "time rider" and "camera" will eventually show up on dear tommy as they were originally intended for it

completely agree about how the production has come a long way on the material post-kill for love - all the singles intended for dear tommy were a step up and it's improved even more since then

Is there an ilm thread for this phenomenon? Only other example I can think of atm is Abbey Road/Let It Be

off the top of my head there's prefab sprout's from langley park to memphis/protest songs

There's a second classic rock cover in there: 'On the Wall' is 'Baba O'Riley' in all but name.

I'm exaggerating, but the echoes are hard to shake off.

it's a jesus & mary chain cover, so while i hear what you're getting at it's probably just as applicable to the original

Ah, I had no idea. I guess I should listen to Darklands.

wow, the On the Wall cover is breathtaking

album's pretty good, but also feels uncharacteristically low-stakes? which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if they wind up releasing Dear Tommy soon I'm guessing it'll be another 90 minute opus or something

That's how it feels to me too.

I really want a Chromatic’s cover of a Leonard Cohen song, with their Montreal connections.

Slowly beginning to agree with the "this is their best album" take. Love the "Light as a Feather"->"Touch Red" trio especially

PS it looks like 'I Can Never Be Myself When You're Around' is quietly back on Spotify? <3

another new album of sorts has been released - Faded Now. it seems to be a mix of alternate versions of Closer to Grey tracks and new tracks. it's also been added to the Closer to Grey deluxe edition, so i guess these new tracks are essentially Closer to Grey b-sides/outtakes?

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ICYMI, part 2: https://t.co/TopQOYgxSf

— Vehlinggo (@vehlinggo) April 20, 2020