CHROMB!

Who said RIO could not be fun? Here we have the fifth album from the wonderful Chromb!, again featuring Antoine Mermet (saxophone, synthesizer, delay, vocals), Camille Durieux (synthesizers, vocals), Léo Dumont (drums, vocals) and Lucas Hercberg (bass, vocal), and the major synth sound being used throughout sounds as if it has been lifted straight from Pacman! It is not a style of synth one often comes across, and to hear it being provided in a complex manner against a complex and uncompromising rhythm section is quite special. If a different tone had been used then it would not have had nearly the same impact as it is not just the notes but how they are coming across which makes it what it is. When that is combined with twee vocals as on "Roupoutoum contre Routoupoum " one really starts to wonder what is going on.

Dur et Doux are one of the most interesting and consistent labels around, releasing complex music which always needs to be listened to and can never be discarded into the background and Chromb! are one of the many highlights which can be found in their catalogue. This is their fourth album for the label and it is obvious this is where they belong as they have the freedom to do whatever they want, and even though it is the same line-up this is in many ways quite removed from their last release, 2020's 'Le Livre Des Merveilles'. Just when one thinks there is a path through the thorns everything closes in and we are forced into a very different direction with "Pauvre Brobre" being quite menacing with screams and strained vocals being brought together with horror and crashing cymbals and a repeated melody on a stylophone? It should never work but it does, as it is enthralling and like a car crash one cannot look away but stay engrossed until the very end. This is uncompromising stuff which has incredible depth and is truly progressive with huge elements of free jazz as they continue to go where they will, no matter what else is happening.

Rejoice, mes amis, CHROMB! is back with a new album - and this is their best one yet!

When it comes to the contemporary prog stable (pun intended) of Dur et Doux, CHROMB! is one of my personal favorites. Thier previous 2020 LP "Le livre des merveilles" left me a bit disappointed, as it saw the band going more into melancholic and slow territory - which is fine, don't get me wrong; it's just that when I go to a CHROMB! record, it means I'm in the mood for some quirkiness, some weirdness, some lightning-speed fun.

And boy oh boy, does "Cinq" deliver exactly that!

At "Cinq", the band gather their strengths to deliver short, but very dense, dancey, peculiar cuts, and I'm all for it. It seems this time around there is a stronger emphasis on electronic elements, as heard with retro-style keyboards and electronic drums bits. The rhythm section is super tight here, providing some odd, yet so very dancey grooves, while quirky keboards and saxophone just blast away into weirdness galore. As expected, half of the record is drenched with tasteful short-time delay, which is a well-established characteristic of CHROMB!'s sound at this point. Not to many vocals this time around, but when they show up, they are as strange as ever. The more melodic parts (like on the last track, for example) do occur as well, and are a much appreciated moments of French sweetness. Every track on the album has a slightly different taste to offer, and it all comes together just sooo nicely!

In my eyes, "Cinq" is definitely the best CHROMB! album so far, and how could it not be? It's FUN, FUN, FUN, 100% FUN, 200% FUN, 300% FUN. Did I mention this album is FUN? Because it is!

I will dance to this one until I'm dead.

CHROMB! are back with their fourth album, which this time sees them taking inspiration from 13th Century cleric and knight Gervais de Tilbury and his work, 'Livre des Merveilles', which was the third part of his 'Otia imperialia' encyclopaedic work. Apparently the band have taken segments of this into their lyrics, but whether they sing in the original Latin or the French version which became popular during the Middle Ages I cannot say, seeing as how I am a lazy Pom and am only (nearly) fluent in one language. This means the words become part of the music for me, which in this aspect is a shame as research shows this is still an interesting publication even to this day (de Tilbury is sometimes referred to as the first ever European folklorist).

No matter what the inspiration or lyrical intrigues taking place, CHROMB! are a band who musically refuse to conform (even down to always having their name in capitals), performing as a quartet without guitars, and creating music which is always RIO/avant, challenging the listener at every turn. The line-up is the same of course, with Léo Dumont (drums, percussion, objects), Camille Durieux (keyboards, synths, vocals), Lucas Hercberg (bass, synth, vocals) and Antoine Mermet (alto sax, delay, synths, vocals) and again they have produced an album which I find incredibly intriguing, intense, and totally indescribable, but I will try anyway. When I reviewed their last album, '10000', I said their music "takes Zappa, Soft Machine, The Residents, John Zorn and Art Zoyd into logical and illogical extremes, blending sounds which have no place being put together, to create something which is strangely enthralling and enticing while at the same time also being harsh and abrasive." That is true again with this album, except at times I also find myself thinking of religious music, with long held-down chords reminding me of hymns being sung in a church with a stone vaulted ceiling, or at least it would if it didn't sound like someone was being killed at the same time ("Les Chevaliers qui Apparaissent").

This is music that stretches the listener, taking them into areas which are sometimes frightening, but also compelling so there is no opportunity whatsoever to turn away. This four-track album may only be 34 minutes long, but when it is playing the rest of the world disappears and this is the only thing which matters. There is a love/hate relationship with CHROMB!, as either listeners will hate them and have no idea what is going on and why anyone can attempt to listen to this, while others will embrace this and feel the world is a better place by having bands and musicians like this in it. I know which side I am on; do you feel brave enough to have your listening challenged by a band pushing extremes? You should.

To say this album is difficult to absorb is probably the understatement of the year. Maybe I'm getting old, but I suppose progressive rock has underwent a lot of changes I'm unaware of. Disclaimer: I'm old school (Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush, King Crimson, etc) so that may help explain why listening to this album is like parasailing through a thick fog of broken glass. To be fair, there were some nice elements here and there, but they were so overburdened by sheer noise that the end result was way too challenging for me. I suppose if I was a fan of Frank Zappa or avant garde music in general I'd think Chromb! was the bomb. Unfortunately, I have to pass.

I first became aware of the Lyon-based label Dur et Doux when Sean Worrall of the mighty Organ and I were talking one day, and he suggested I search out Le Grand Sbam. I was greatly impressed as to what I heard so made contact with the label where Clément Dupuis suggested some other bands I may also like to discover, the first being CHROMB! They are a quartet, comprising Léo Dumont (drums, percussions, small objects, vocals), Camille Durieux (synthesizers, keyboards, piano, vocals), Lucas Hercberg (bass, synthesizers, vocals) and Antoine Mermet (alto saxophone, vocals, synthesizers, delay pedal), and this 2016 release was their third album. To get an understanding of the band, it is probably easiest to get an understanding of the label with which they are working, Dur et Doux. This is taken from the label site, "Dur et Doux is a collective of musicians, a label and a production structure that praises the amplification and the unusual. Founded in 2008, it now gathers around 30 musicians based in and around Lyon and the Loire and Ain departments?Dur et Doux invents places of acrobatic amplified music in which almost anything can happen. A child of the erudite (dodecaphonism, electroacoustics, atonality) and popular sound revolutions (the invention of the electric guitar, jazz and improvisation), Dur et Doux creates a unique musical space that is open to the world and its music styles, while maintaining a sane mistrust for reductive labels."

Here we have a band who are pushing boundaries, creating music without electric guitar which takes Zappa, Soft Machine, The Residents, John Zorn and Art Zoyd into logical and illogical extremes, blending sounds which have no place being put together, to create something which is strangely enthralling and enticing while at the same time also being harsh and abrasive. They use atonality almost as a weapon to distract the listener when things could almost be getting too commercial and poptastic. It is challenging music, RIO, where there really are no limits. There is a sense of humour, playfulness even, within some of the sounds, but the result is always something which many music lovers are going to find too harsh to be enjoyed.

Me? It makes me thing of when I got my first tattoo, "one more of us and one less of them", as if you find this and like it then you will be part of a collective from which there is no returning. This is music which is challenging, yet is intriguing and real, unlike so much which pervades the airwaves. People need to find this out for themselves, they will never hear it being played on commercial radio, as this is music which makes us think. Harmony vocals are sprinkled through the album, complexity and tight playing with weird time signatures and hooks are de rigeur. Not for the fainthearted, but a delight all the same.

Oh such a delightful touch reminds me of French avantgarde progressive communes. This album "1000" released in 2016 by a promising and expressing French killers CHROMB! (thanks to Clement in Dur Et Doux label for a brilliant suggestion) has crazy excessive appearances here and there.

In the beginning of the first strike "Des Francis En Quinconce" an eccentric electronic explosion like a childish quarrel absorbs the audience definitely. Pretty comfortable is a combination of jazz rock coolness and mysterious electronica. Quirky percussive voices reminds me of a French obscurity Super Freego. Such a magnificence cannot help giving us a big surprise and massive impression.

Contrary to the first one, we should get relaxed in mystic chorus and danceable groove in "Bobby" with some dissected sound texture out of prediction. "Favrice" has quite innovative anti-majority-like soundscape seasoned with slight tragic spice. We can find Krautrock- ish distorted psychedelia (like Siinai) mixed with warped anti-pop and avantgarde jazz Fantasia in "Le Tombeau Est Vide". Cannot estimate what they would launch as the next melodic strategy.

Obvious pleasant moments can usually be heard in complicated vibes and movements ... e.g. in a perfect greeting "Bonjoure". Constructive, contractive phrase variations to shoot addictive heartache to the audience can be found in"La Nuit Des Madames" ... mystic rhythmic / melodic lines really. A confusing ambient collection "Die Krabben Leben Noch" is another fave of mine, filled with drastically psychic sound material. This colourful exaggerated stream takes us the final stage "Il En Fallait" drenched in almost all of their musical essences.

Apparent comfort full of impression should be kept in our ears, beyond explanation. Kinda sarcastic and stimulative creation must be fine for every progressive rock freak yuppie ... addiction, it's real addiction.

'1000' - CHROMB! (77/100)

I originally became acquainted with the work of the CHROMB! guys through a past project of theirs, PoiL. Dur et Doux, the longstanding collaboration of Léo Dumont and Camille Durieux ("Hard and Soft" in French-- a clever play on their surnames) never strays from whimsical avant-prog however, so I wouldn't have batted an eye if this had been marketed as the next PoiL album. Challengingly atonal arrangements and lowbrow Zappa-esque humour are going to be staples for this French collective for probably as long as they live. At the end of the day, this is the Rock in Opposition you might already love or hate, being brought into the 21st century. CHROMB! may not be quite as relevant as Univers Zero or another of their forebears, but their sound is every bit as tight and challenger to the undaunted listener.

Even if this is the first time I've heard of CHROMB!, there's been music released under the name at least since 2012. Their two albums before this were called I and II respectively. Calling their third album 1000 seems like a clever way for CHROMB! to jump the shark. What was IX supposed to sound like? What of the zealous fan cults that could have sprung if they had seen fit to release 487? While the overabundant humour in bands of this nature usually get on my nerves, I have to say that the way the Dur et Doux collective stand out most from their equally-proficient RIO peers is that the humour actually works. At least when it comes to the non-musical aspects of their work, from titles and lyrics to the aesthetic, they've got a way of tickling wit like few others in their class have managed. I still think I prefer the ultra-serious approach of bands like Shub-Niggurath and Univers Zero, but considering the bad Zappa humour is usually something I've struggled with in avant-prog, the success of CHROMB!'s whimsy is all to their credit.

After having been wowed by PoiL's maniacal tightness and avant-weirdness, I'm not surprised at all that CHROMB! enjoys the same merits. Despite all tongues-in-cheek, 1000 is very serious, formal- sounding music. Slower sections mess around with weird, uncomfortable harmonies; faster sections do the same while throwing in unpredictable times and ample space for the musicians to push themselves. I do think this sort of highly technical avant-prog went out of style around the time bands like The Mars Volta and Porcupine Tree usurped the prog mantle. Even so, it wouldn't be hard to see the RIO niche get bigger if bands like CHROMB! continue to outdo themselves in terms of their musicianship.

Even if 1000 can be summarized effectively by the whimsical avant-prog description, there's still a ton of variety in between. "Bonjoure" is a fantastic fast jam in dissonant RIO tradition. Martial basswork thunders below playfully anxious alto sax, wrapping up with near-perfect band tightness. They are able to flow from frantic material like that to warmer vocal sections, replete with choral harmonies at no cost to the general weirdness. It would be easy to dismiss CHROMB! as being weird for weirdness' sake. That theory overlooks how deceptively coherent 1000 is as a work. I've heard some similar avant-prog in the past few weeks that sounded almost painful in the way they would cram so much into an album without rhyme or reason. For CHROMB!, their "reason" is probably still to make people laugh and have fun as much as a SoCal pop-punk band, but make no mistake: CHROMB!'s silly charm and playfulness is backed up by a very real intelligence and direction. I really hope to hear more of this sort of stuff in the future.