| Chrome | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 July 1993 (1993-07-20) | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Studio | Britannia Row (Fulham, London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:46 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Gil Norton | |||
| Catherine Wheel chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chrome | ||||
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Chrome is the second studio album by Englishalternative rock bandCatherine Wheel, released on 20 July 1993 byFontana Records in the United Kingdom andMercury Records in the United States. It was produced byGil Norton, who would later go on to produce Catherine Wheel's next album,Happy Days. The lead single, "Crank", reached No. 5 onBillboard'sModern Rock Tracks chart.
While not all that successful commercially,Chrome has been well received by critics and fans alike.
Chrome was intended by the band to be a departure into more hard rock territory when compared to their debut,Ferment. Bassist Dave Hawes explained, "The main thing I remember when going to recordChrome was that we didn't just want to makeFerment 2. And through continually touring betweenFerment and going into recordChrome we had evolved into a harder sounding band. It just seemed a natural process and soChrome turned into a harder sounding album and I thinkGil Norton was the perfect producer for us at that point of time. We went in with the songs well-rehearsed and I really enjoyed recordingChrome especially doing it inBritannia Row Studios whereJoy Division had recordedCloser (a personal favourite band and album of mine)".[4]
The album cover photo was shot in an indoor swimming pool byStorm Thorgerson of theHipgnosis design company. In 1999, the cover of this album appeared as the cover of the Hipgnosis/Thorgerson retrospective bookEye of the Storm: The Album Graphics of Storm Thorgerson (Sanctuary Publishing). The CD version was also available in a limited edition version with a shiny chrome-looking cover with embossed writing on it.
The track "Ursa Major Space Station" was named after a guitar effects pedal,[5] while "Fripp" was named afterKing Crimson guitaristRobert Fripp.
Chrome peaked at No. 26 on theBillboardHeatseekers Albums chart.[6] It was supported by the single "Crank", a No. 5Modern Rock Tracks hit.[7]
Music videos were filmed for singles "Crank", "Show Me Mary" and "The Nude". The video for "Crank" featured the band playing in a hotel elevator and lobby to a motley cast of hotel guests, with several scenes emulating thepersecution, death, and resurrection of Jesus; "Show Me Mary" had the band being driven around in a taxi; "The Nude" featured the smearing of wet clay across a topless woman's torso.
Catherine Wheel embarked on tours withSlowdive,Chapterhouse andINXS, among others, to promote this album.
The album is characterized by its "gentle, blushing form of aggression," and its tracks have been described as "harsh and menacing," as well as "celestial and full of dread." According to Brad Nelson ofPitchfork, "It’s a considerably more focused record [thanFerment], both in songwriting and the visibility of itsinstrumentation; Norton sharpens whatFerment intentionally blurred, dragging a whirlingshoegaze design around cleaner guitar tones and Rob Dickinson’s honeyed vocals. Everychord onChrome is a crisp, metallic clang trapped in a halo of hazy and seductivenoise, a membrane through which the individual notes branch like nerves. [...] Where many shoegaze bands would resign themselves to 2-3monochromatic notes, Dickinson’s vocal melodies are dynamic, vivid, and exhibit an astral quality; they burn, shimmer, and glow against these songs. It’s as ifChrome were imported from another history of alt-rock, one more textured and romantic."[8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[10] |
| NME | 7/10[11] |
| Q |  [12] |
Melody Maker describedChrome as "a tighter, more robust affair" thanFerment and "perhaps the ultimate Catherine Wheel album".[13]NME called it "a triumph".[11]
InTrouser Press, Jack Rabid wrote that the album "combines songwriting prowess with more raging playing, pop tunes gone kablooey and a huge bonfire sound with a faint metal edge."[14] Writing inThe Rough Guide to Rock, Anna Robinson was less favourable, describing much of the album's material as "comparatively lightweight" compared toFerment.[15]
"Crank" was included inPopMatters' 2010 list of the "Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".[16] In 2016,Chrome was placed 9th inPitchfork's list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time".[1] Chris Ott, also ofPitchfork recommends the album for those exploring "thealt-rock and shoegaze landscapes of the 1990s."[3]
All tracks are written byRob Dickinson and Brian Futter.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kill Rhythm" | 3:51 |
| 2. | "I Confess" | 3:56 |
| 3. | "Crank" | 3:45 |
| 4. | "Broken Head" | 4:43 |
| 5. | "Pain" | 6:31 |
| 6. | "Strange Fruit" | 3:06 |
| 7. | "Chrome" | 3:53 |
| 8. | "The Nude" | 3:51 |
| 9. | "Ursa Major Space Station" | 5:09 |
| 10. | "Fripp" | 7:34 |
| 11. | "Half Life" | 4:08 |
| 12. | "Show Me Mary" | 3:19 |
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 58 |
| USHeatseekers Albums (Billboard)[6] | 26 |
