It's been a very long time since I wrote about Chromatics for Click Hear. Actually, it's been about three years, judging by this instalment, which pre-dates the column's life as a daily feature. For such a prolific act, releasing 15 records in their seven years, you'd think that the discography has grown substantially in that time, but it hasn't. That doesn't mean there isn't anything new to check out though. Well, depending on the severity of your fandom.
Gorilla vs. Bear recently pointed out that the Contradefacto blog collected the Chromatics' tour-only CD-Rs in one nice downloadable file, which traces the band's evolution from screeching no-wavers to sultry disco DIY sophisticates. Says the blog:
When one thinks of the band Chromatics, they think of the italo/late night disco group fronted by the beautiful Ruth Radelet, but the band didn't start out sounding like this. It would be impossible to try to figure the band out based on their record label releases. They've gone from dirty/sassy/no-wave punk to danceable/Giorgio Moroder-inspired disco. They've also gone through many line-ups, with Adam Miller being the only original member. To truly understand how they've transformed into the present-day Chromatics, you would have to listen to all of their self-released tour CD-Rs. Since 2003, every time the Chromatics went on tour, they would sell CD-Rs made specially for the tour.
And in case you're like, "Wow, I wonder if there's a similar collection with the Glass Candy CD-Rs?" Click here and you'll find the answer.
Here are the tracklistings:
Rat Life Vol. 1:
01. "(Intro)"
02. "Ice Hatchets"
03. "Beach of Infants"
04. "Curtains"
05. "Jesus"
06. "Fertile Future"
07. "Love You"
08. "Crabs of Sunset"
09. "Three Hearts"
10. "In the Garden"
11. "Monarch"
12. "Thanks we're KRMTX"
Rat Life Vol. 2:
01. "Healer"
02. "Surrogate"
03. "Three Hearts"
04. "City Beds"
05. "Witness"
Tour CD-R 2004
01. "Healer"
02. "Witness"
03. "Shining Violence"
04. "Ice Hatchets"
05. "City Beds"
Unreleased TMU Sessions:
01. "Jade, Diamonds, Rubies"
02. "Mannequin"
03. "Magic"
04. "Untitled #1"
05. "Hands in the Dark"
06. "Untitled #2"
07. "Nite Delivery"
08. "Witness (12" Instrumental Mix)"
09. "At the Door"
10. "Healer (12" Mix)"
Shining Violence Demos:
01. "Birds of Paradise"
02. "Nite"
03. "Mere Secret"
04. "Beach of Infants"
05. "The Guest"
06. "Date with a Vocoder"
07. "Glass Slipper"
08. "City Beds"
Fall 2006 Demos:
01. "Shining Violence"
02. "In the City"
03. "Lady"
04. "Hotel"
05. "At the River"
06. "The Price of Love"
07. "Hands in the Dark"
08. "Icey Jungle"
09. "The Gemini"
10. "Animal Nitrate"
11. "Lanterns Flicker"
12. "The Wanderer"
13. "Shining Violence (Reprise)"
14. "Baby"
15. "The Guest"
Download Chromatics CD-Rs
Gorilla vs. Bear recently pointed out that the Contradefacto blog collected the Chromatics' tour-only CD-Rs in one nice downloadable file, which traces the band's evolution from screeching no-wavers to sultry disco DIY sophisticates. Says the blog:
When one thinks of the band Chromatics, they think of the italo/late night disco group fronted by the beautiful Ruth Radelet, but the band didn't start out sounding like this. It would be impossible to try to figure the band out based on their record label releases. They've gone from dirty/sassy/no-wave punk to danceable/Giorgio Moroder-inspired disco. They've also gone through many line-ups, with Adam Miller being the only original member. To truly understand how they've transformed into the present-day Chromatics, you would have to listen to all of their self-released tour CD-Rs. Since 2003, every time the Chromatics went on tour, they would sell CD-Rs made specially for the tour.
And in case you're like, "Wow, I wonder if there's a similar collection with the Glass Candy CD-Rs?" Click here and you'll find the answer.
Here are the tracklistings:
Rat Life Vol. 1:
01. "(Intro)"
02. "Ice Hatchets"
03. "Beach of Infants"
04. "Curtains"
05. "Jesus"
06. "Fertile Future"
07. "Love You"
08. "Crabs of Sunset"
09. "Three Hearts"
10. "In the Garden"
11. "Monarch"
12. "Thanks we're KRMTX"
Rat Life Vol. 2:
01. "Healer"
02. "Surrogate"
03. "Three Hearts"
04. "City Beds"
05. "Witness"
Tour CD-R 2004
01. "Healer"
02. "Witness"
03. "Shining Violence"
04. "Ice Hatchets"
05. "City Beds"
Unreleased TMU Sessions:
01. "Jade, Diamonds, Rubies"
02. "Mannequin"
03. "Magic"
04. "Untitled #1"
05. "Hands in the Dark"
06. "Untitled #2"
07. "Nite Delivery"
08. "Witness (12" Instrumental Mix)"
09. "At the Door"
10. "Healer (12" Mix)"
Shining Violence Demos:
01. "Birds of Paradise"
02. "Nite"
03. "Mere Secret"
04. "Beach of Infants"
05. "The Guest"
06. "Date with a Vocoder"
07. "Glass Slipper"
08. "City Beds"
Fall 2006 Demos:
01. "Shining Violence"
02. "In the City"
03. "Lady"
04. "Hotel"
05. "At the River"
06. "The Price of Love"
07. "Hands in the Dark"
08. "Icey Jungle"
09. "The Gemini"
10. "Animal Nitrate"
11. "Lanterns Flicker"
12. "The Wanderer"
13. "Shining Violence (Reprise)"
14. "Baby"
15. "The Guest"
Download Chromatics CD-Rs