Review: Adult Contemporary by Chromeo released via BMG
I listened to this second-hand so much I was able to go straight to a note taking listen.
In the past couple of years mainstream pop has progressed into something of a disco revival. If this is always the way Chromeo has sounded then forgive me, this is my introduction to the Montreal duo. I can’t help the comparison though, especially on songs like “BTS,” or “Better Than Sex,” a fun electro-pop cut with fast string dips and a reverse innuendo as its core message.
As it is my introduction to Chromeo I want to say Dave 1 really won me over as a lead singer. The way the vocal melodies on this record are written are so cool and natural with the album opener “New Girl” being a prime and immediate example. He also backs this up in his delivery, he never puts a ton into the performance but it’s still his own. It’s a style not requiring any belted notes but this doesn’t stop us from getting huge hooks like “Lost and Found.”
I don’t need a new-
Girl, I feel so taken by you.
I also just believe these two as bros. Between both parts of “Personal Effects” we go from being sad about the way an ex left to turning it into sort of an angry rant at the bar when talking about it with the boys in part two. It’s like Lad Time: The Album. None of this is to say the only thing working here is the lame cool guy act, “Ballad of the Insomniacs” is an emotional look into losing comfortable sleep after a break-up and “CODA” is a pretty funny look into the way partners can get way too clingy.
Hey P, did you see the stunt she pulled?
What is it?
She left her charger by the bed.
So what?
A lot of these instrumentals are very simple but they’re all effective. Even on track one I can only make out about four layers of instrumentation, a consistent bass line, a synth track, some percussion and an occasional guitar strum but it’s sort of all you need to get into this or really any other track here with how well P-Thugg produces these.
“Replacements” I think can safely say is my favorite track here as it feels like the song they went the hardest on. It’s a very sweet sentiment about not being able to replace “the one” no matter how much you look for it in new lovers. You can feel the pain in this hook. In the actual chorus, you can hear a shakiness and exhaustion at the heartbreak. In the post-chorus there’s a real sense of understanding or lack thereof, the entire world has been flipped from this particular loss. All this and I haven’t even mentioned the La Roux feature, I myself haven’t heard from this artist in a very long time and this is such a welcome reintroduction.
Time again, I find replacements but they still feel like you.
And now I’m just so confused,
I feel lost watching the news.
I’ve been running out of juice,
I don’t wanna have to choose.
It’s not an album full of a lot of variety and it is a bit long but honestly every song is worth listening to. Each track here can stand on their own but also they stand together. This will definitely be something I go back to all year long and I’m really happy I got into this at all.
Our score of Adult Contemporary is 8/10.
Our favorite track is track 5, Replacements.
Comments
Post a Comment