“God bless the freak show we call lust.”
Superheaven’s Ours is Chrome is officially out today and tumblr nerds, L.L. Bean enthusiasts (I’m looking at you, Drew, John), and grunge fans across the board are anxiously awaiting to hear the follow up to the group’s most previous release, Jar, which I still think is an awesome album.
The group formerly known as Daylight isn’t ushering a new era of music, but has rather created a new haven where the grungy drone of guitars and angsty lyrics can survive in a world that wrote grunge off as a special interest genre in the late 90’s. And the group has certainly thrived in their new world. After Jar hit shelves in 2013, the group garnered enough popularity to be slammed with a lawsuit over the name Daylight. I just wish the lawsuit had a clause in it that required the quartet to change their name to something ridiculous, so I could rationalize to myself why they chose the name Superheaven. Yeah, I get it that’s the only thing that comes up when you google it, who cares. But I digress.
Ours is Chrome is sick. The album is engineered and recorded by Studio 4 recording genius Will Yip and mastered by Ryan Smith, which means it sounds absolutely incredible. The guitars are heavy, the overall tone is nuts, and the entire thing is just drenched in chorus. I think it’s definitely a solid successor to Jar but there’s just something about Ours is Chrome I can’t shake. There was something very dark and numb that Superheaven delivered in Jar, an indescribable quality that made one feel incredibly cold when listening to the record; but that trait simply isn’t present on Ours is Chrome. The sound of depression and angst has been replaced by the buzz of apathy.
Again, I’m not trying to badmouth what the group has put out in the slightest. I’m sure this will get misconstrued, so let me say it very clearly: Ours is Chrome is a kickass record. There isn’t a song on here that isn’t good. Little secret, if you’re looking for the slow jam headbanger of the album, skip ahead to “From The Chest Down.” The track totally reminisces on the loud, aggressive tempos that Jar had while introducing some nice quiet underlying melodies.
As I’ve said, Ours is Chrome is a great follow up to Jar. Superheaven has proved that nothing has changed for them but their name and that the world is theirs for the taking.
Rating: 4/5
Play the Superheaven Ours Is Chrome Video Game
Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz