Review

A long, dreamlike drive down a pitch-black highway.
For once, take an artist at their word. The Chromatics’ Night Drive is best enjoyed at night. As the album progresses it becomes hazier and hazier, until you barely even realize that it’s playing any more — an aural analogue to your descent into sleep. If that makes it seem like a soundtrack, so be it. Johnny Jewel, the album’s producer, would most likely be honored you said so. One of his musical heroes — and a huge influence on this album, in particular — are the Italian soundtrack specialists Goblin.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t highlights. Those who dug “In the City” from the After Dark compilation will love the narcotic guitars-and-synths of “I Want Your Love” or “Running Up That Hill,” the best Kate Bush cover since the Futureheads took on “Hounds of Love.” Those that remember the one-minute instrumental “Killing Spree (Suite 304 Demo),” though, will have plenty to enjoy on the slooooow back-half of the record. “Tomorrow Is So Far Away” takes “Killing Spree”’s theme and simply adds Ruth Radelet’s American Nico vocals over it, while both “Let's Make This a Moment to Remember” and “Tick of the Clock” jettison her completely in favor of moody instrumentals that work their magic by not doing much of anything at all.

As any ambient musician will tell you, making not much at all work is harder than it sounds. The Chromatics, though, eschew the carefully sculpted soundscapes of that genre for a raw approach. Like his work with Glass Candy, you can almost hear how old Jewel's synthesizers are, wheezing their way through arpeggios, struggling to hold the beat for Adam Miller’s minimal — and crucial — guitar work. It makes the Chromatics feel that much closer, hard at work, so you don’t have to be.