Chroma
25 Forever
Alcopop! Records
Alt rock trio Chroma from Pontypridd, South Wales return with their second album following a successful debut and supporting shows with The Foo Fighters. Fans will notice they have returned with a grittier and more personal sound. Heavily influenced by 2000s emo music and artists such as The Distillers and Elliot Smith, ‘25 Forever’ lyrics are an intimate reflective introspect of what it feels like to navigate the world as a young woman in her twenties, the lessons that you learn, the pitfalls and the beauty of those formative years. The album also takes aim at misogyny and far right politics. Opening with ‘What’, which is punky, energetic and brimming with attitude, thrashing guitars and drums. We love KT Halls vocal style which fits this type of music perfectly and right off the bat you can hear some of her range and how in control she is behind the mic. ‘Riverhouse’ is melodic and makes you want to dance. Even when the lyrical content may not always be joyous it feels uplifting. ‘Life Lack’ is a touch slower and KT Halls vocals soar. ‘Straight Men’ is probably what you will expect lyrically and we love the brashness in sound making it an excellent feminist punk track. Title track ‘25 Forever’ is dreamy and cleaner in sound than some of the other songs which shows the trio have many strings to their bow. We were intrigued to hear ‘Coalminer’s Granddaughter’ after learning it was written about deindustrialisation in South Wales after viewing the collection of Clémentine Schneidermann in collaboration with Charlotte West in the National Museum of Wales. It’s a suitably edgy and hard hitting track. ‘Sometimes’ is an English translation of their Welsh track ‘Weithiau’ which is a cool touch. You can really hear and feel the thought put in and the passion radiating from the album. Ten solid tracks with no two the same.
https://www.facebook.com/CHROMAbanduk
Review by Aggy Gillon