Portland, Oregon-based electronic group Chromatics have recently released a new single entitled “Teacher” off their often delayed and highly anticipated forthcoming album, Dear Tommy. As previously reported on Pitchfork, “Last year, Chromatics released their new album Closer to Grey. The album was dubbed the band’s ‘seventh’ album. Their 2012 album Kill for Love was their fifth, and, with a new announcement today, it looks like Johnny Jewel just might finally release the album he’s been teasing for over five years: Dear Tommy.”
Their latest musical offering “Teacher” is drenched in chunky drum programing and a thick helping of plucky synthesizers that amplifies the electronic sound the Chromatics are prone to. The video, according to the aforementioned Pitchfork article, is directed by Chromatics producer Johnny Jewel. The vibrant and florescent colors that permeates the video gives it a throwback club vibe with its ever-changing strobe like effect that is pervasive throughout the music video.
Chromatics have had a long standing career, forming back in 2001, breaking out with their indie rock/punk 2003 debut Chrome Rats vs. Basement Rutz, followed by their sophomore studio album Plaster Hounds (both released via Gold Standard Laboratories). Chromatics subsequent studio albums were released via Italians Do It Better, a music imprint started in 2006 by Johnny Jewel and Mike Simonetti, including 2007’s Night Drive, 2012’s Kill For Love and 2019’s Closer To Grey. The collectives’ current touring roster consists of producer Johnny Jewel (programing), Ruth Radelet (vocals, guitar and synthesizer), Adam Miller (guitar/vocoder) and Nat Walker (drums/synthesizer).
As previously reported here on mxdwn, “The band was originally set to release an album entitled Dear Tommy, which has been teased since at least 2015, however the band’s main multi-instrumentalist and producer Johnny Jewel allegedly destroyed all physical copies of that album after near-death experience in 2015. This claim was made by the band’s former manager Alexis Riviera who tweeted “Christmas day 2015, Johnny almost died in Hawaii. When he came back home to California he destroyed all copies of Tommy. 15k CDs and 10k vinyl in the Italians warehouse in Glendale, all gone.
Despite the destruction of these recordings, the band is advertising Closer To Grey as their seventh studio album rather than their sixth, as Kill for Love serves as their fifth studio album release.”
Even with the release of the complete track listing, their latest single “Teacher” and its accompanied music video, Chromatics Dear Tommy‘s mysterious allure continues as there is still no official release date announced. With more information becoming readily available, fans of Chromatics may finally see the highly anticipated forthcoming album’s imminent release.
Dear Tommy Track List:
01 Fresh Blood
02 Glitter
03 Never Tell
04 Just Like You
05 She Says
06 The Moment
07 Time Rider
08 White Fences
09 Teacher
10 Between the Lines
11 Too Late
12 Dear Tommy
13 Melodrama
14 Ultra Vivid
15 Colorblind
16 Sometimes
17 Dream Sequence
18 Endless Sleep
To listen to “Teacher” stream below, via YouTube.
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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