- 20 years in, the Canadian duo pull together a solid album that shows keeping the funk alive is harder than it looks.
- When Chromeo were touring in the years between Fancy Footwork and Business Casual, their second and third albums, their stage setup featured synthesisers atop two pairs of legs wearing scarlet high heels. Like the choice of bright, bold footwear, Chromeo's shows back then were full of brash funk and confident swagger, standing out in the bloghouse era when being brazen was very much en vogue.
Now in 2024, the Montreal duo's 20th year, they've just released their sixth album, Adult Contemporary, which meanders through musings on grown-up relationships and retaining the funk in your 30s and 40s. This "grown" version of the funklordz doesn't quite hit the mark. The swag and showmanship I remember from '00s Chromeo is missing, failing to shine when they're singing about burnout culture ("BTS") or penning lyrics so uncomplicated that I found myself wondering if they Googled "words that rhyme with." Check the opening bars of "Lost And Found": "Remember Steve / He's such a thief / He stole your heart and promised he would never leave."
There are moments on Adult Contemporary that sound like Chromeo, only diluted—like a weak glass of squash when the flavour doesn't pop like you want it to—which wasn't my expectation when I read that the duo were using the record to tap into the "raw" sounds of their early albums. Speaking on the theme of mature relationships, the duo said in a press statement that "if we gotta sing about curling irons, so be it." But if you insist on singing about hairstyling tools in the context of being an adult, that's probably not how you're going to keep the funk alive. On "Personal Effects," the narrative of a silly girl intentionally leaving her things at a boy's house ("she knew just what she was doing") feels a little tired. I also found myself wondering, as I listened to "CODA," how a non-male artist singing about being codependent to the point of wanting to follow your partner to work would land. (Badly, probably.)
With all that said, Adult Contemporary is a breezy, enjoyable listen. The high points are led by the pair's tried-and-tested combination of funky guitar licks, groovy basslines, bright synth melodies, frivolous singalong lyrics and, sometimes, extended outros. At times, these are clunky and disjointed ("Got it Good"), while other cuts give the feeling of a lively jam session, like the string section and percussion on "BTS" or the slippery jazzy keys between "CODA" and "Words With You." I was reminded of early Chromeo in the talk box vocal of "Two of Us (Friendsnlovers, Pt. 2)," a twinkling, unhurried guitar ballad that wouldn't be out of place on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. "Words With You," the album's lead single, is a slick and polished take on Kool & The Gang with its live horn section and a hint of diva-backing vocals, while La Roux shines as the album's only feature on synth-workout bop "Replacements."
In 2010, we wrote about Business Casual: "It is hard to shake the feeling you've heard and seen this all before." This applies to Adult Contemporary too, but as a person who finds great comfort in familiarity, I don't see that as the record's weakness. Adult Contemporary might not break any new ground or present any radical ideas, but as the familiar saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Chromeo have a formula, and 20 years in, by this point they've proved it works.
Tracklist01. (I Don't Need A) New Girl
02. Got it Good
03. Lost And Found
04. BTS
05. Replacements feat. La Roux
06. Lonesome Nights
07. Personal Effects
08. She Knows It (Personal Effects pt. 2)
09. Ballad Of The Insomniacs
10. CODA
11. Words With You
12. A Cut Above
13. Friendsnlovers
14. Two of Us (Friendsnlovers pt. 2)
15. Replacements feat. La Roux