Electronic music band from Portland, Oregon (USA). Their first single, ‘Beach Of Infants’, was a solo project of Adam Miller, who has been the band’s sole consistent member. By the time of its release, Chromatics had expanded to a four piece band, with Hannah Billie, Devin Welch and Michelle Nolan. After the release of the debut album ‘Chrome Rats vs. Basement Rutz’ (2003), all members except Miller left. With a revamped lineup, which included Nat Sahlstrom (bass) and Ron Avila (percussion), Chromatics’ second album ‘Plaster Hounds’ was released in 2004.
The lineup changed once again, as Miller played many of the same songs from the ‘Plaster Hounds’ era with Lena Okazaki replacing Sahlstrom on bass and a drum machine replacing the free jazz-influenced percussive style of Avila. This lineup of Miller and Okazaki released a few CD-Rs, still in the lo-fi art punk style that had been established, but the addition of the drum machine hinted at the major stylistic shift to come.
Okazaki left the band and Chromatics went through their largest reinvention around 2005, becoming the quartet of Miller, Ruth Radelet, Johnny Jewel, and Nat Walker. This resulted in a gradual but dramatic shift in the band’s sound and live performance. Chromatics’ third studio album, ‘Night Drive’ (2007) became the band’s most acclaimed release. On Night Drive, the group ditched their ‘hairy noise-rock troupe’ aesthetic in favor of a ‘neatly groomed pop-dance quartet’. The album included a cover version of Running Up That Hill.
In 2012, the album ‘Kill For Love’ was released. The title track was featured in the television shows ‘Bates Motel’ and ‘Gossip Girl’. Another track from the album, ‘Into the Black’, was featured in the television shows ‘Mr. Robot’, ‘Revenge’, ‘Riverdale’, and ’13 Reasons Why’.
The band’s fifth album, ‘Dear Tommy’, was announced in December 2014. In May 2017, Chromatics’ former manager revealed on Twitter that Johnny Jewel had destroyed all copies of the finished ‘Dear Tommy’ following a near-death experience in late 2015, but had subsequently re-recorded the entire album.
The band performed their song ‘Shadow’ at the end of the two-hour-long season premiere of ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ revival series, which aired on Showtime in the USA on May 21, 2017.
