Singles Bar reviews: Chromatics, “Kill For Love”

nightswimming:

“There’s a strong argument–whether or not you agree–that the best part of Drive was its soundtrack. Many groups were featured, all adrift in the same aesthetic: ’80s synths arranged in a 3 a.m. haze, with equally hazy vocals that hardly seemed human. It’s a soundtrack designed less for real cities than mythological ones, and it’s little wonder listeners found it striking.

At least one listener–even if that listener was only one, namely me–also found it resembled Portland group the Chromatics, whose track “Tick of the Clock” was on the film’s soundtrack. The Chromatics have done this sort of thing at least since 2007, with genre-pivot album Night Drive. The name could plausibly be a working film title that got truncated, and half its tracks could plausibly have made the soundtrack. Even the song titles fit: “Night Drive,” “Killing Spree,” “Mask,” “Accelerator”; if you’re looking for uncanny coincidences, they’re there. (Less of a coincidence: producer Johnny Jewel drafting a soundtrack that got rejected)”