CHROMATICS KRMTX - Ice Hatchets / Curtains

Description

KRMTX is CHROMATICS, short and simple. The change in name reflects an abbreviation in lineup, which has reduced the quartet (who only recently released the heralded Chrome Rats vs. Basement Rutz album) to a duo. Singer Adam M. (ex-SOILED DOVES, THE VOGUE) still fronts the band, and his familiar antagonistic mumbling has never sounded... weirder - but that's a good thing. Adam now also plays guitar and writes drum programs, while new addition Nat S. plays the bass. As KRMTX, the two have begun making interesting, some might even say extreme, choices with the direction the group's new songs are taking relative to what CHROMATICS established. We at GSL feel that that is what keeps this kind of music exciting, and more importantly, vital. Call it what you will. The change in instrumentation has led to a much denser, more electronic feel than anything the quartet produced. The production manages to emulate 'dub' without patronizing it, something of a feat in and of itself; meanwhile, the songs retain an acute attention to pop, in spite of their gloomy bass tones, overtly simple rhythms, and at times, unintelligible vocals. A great new beginning from one of our favorites..