Chromatics was an electronic band based in Portland, Oregon, United States.… Read Full Bio ↴Chromatics was an electronic band based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The band consisted of Ruth Radelet (vocals, guitar, synthesizer), Adam Miller (guitar), Johnny Jewel (synthesizer, production) and Nat Walker (drums, synthesizer). The band shifted from a post-punk sound to one inspired by 1980s synthpop and Italo disco around 2006. The band's most acclaimed albums are "Night Drive" (2007) and "Kill for Love" (2012).

The would-be next album, "Dear Tommy" (2016), was scrapped, and was meant to be re-worked for a subsequent release, however the fate of album is unclear, as on August 10, 2021, Ruth Radelet, Adam Miller and Nat Walker announced the breaking up of Chromatics. Later that day the label, Italians Do It Better, and Johnny Jewel's representative, also confirmed the breakup. Their last album is "Closer to Grey" (2019), which has a companion album, "Faded Now" (2020).

The band originally hailed from Seattle and formed in 2002 as a quartet featuring vocalist Adam Miller, drummer Hannah Blilie, guitarist Devin Welch, and bassist Michelle Nolan. That lineup debuted in 2002 with a Calvin Johnson-produced 7" on Gold Standard Laboratories -- a split with Die Monitr Batss -- and followed with the similarly GSL-issued Chrome Rats vs Basement Ruts LP.

While Chrome Rats was critically hailed, Chromatics couldn't keep it together, and Miller was soon the only member in good standing (Blilie, Welch, and Nolan went on to form the similar-sounding Shoplifting). Unworried, Miller added guitar and drum programming to his vocal duties and tapped bassist Nat Sahlstrom for the 2003 GSL 7" Ice Hatchets. That was followed by the February 2004 full-length Plaster Hounds (which featured the percussion work of Get Hustle's Ron Avila), and a repositioning of the Chromatics axis to greater reflect its dub and no wave influences.

This lineup too dissolved and Adam Miller relocated Chromatics to Portland, teaming up with Glass Candy's Johnny Jewel, Ruth Radelet on lead vocals, and Nat Walker on percussion and saxophone. The new lineup of Chromatics had a more lo-fi electronic sound as opposed to the earlier dub and no-wave sounds.

Night Drive
Chromatics Lyrics

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I take a drive in my car
I take a drive in my car

I see the sun disappear
I see the sun disappear

Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back to me
Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back home

My leather glove grips the wheel
My leather glove grips the wheel

I see the sun disappear
I see the sun disappear

Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back to me
Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back home

I took a drive in my car
I saw the sun disappear
My leather glove gripped the wheel
I saw the sun disappear
Bring my baby back
Bring my baby back

Windows down and my hair in the breeze
Windows down and my hair in the breeze

I see the sun reappear
I see the sun reappear

Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back to me

Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back home
Bring my baby back home

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Chromatics’s song Night Drive appear to be about the act of driving and the way in which it can make one feel. The repetition of the line “I take a drive in my car” suggests a sense of enclosure or solitude, as if the singer is intentionally isolating themselves from the world around them. The line “My leather glove grips the wheel” implies a sense of control, as if the act of driving represents a means of escape from the chaos of the outside world. The reference to the disappearing sun could be interpreted in a number of ways, but it may suggest a transition from day to night and the different moods that those times of day evoke.

The recurring line “Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back home” adds a layer of depth to the song, suggesting that there is something or someone missing from the singer’s life that they are searching for through the act of driving. The reference to a “little stranger” could imply that the singer is seeking something unexpected or unknown, something that may require them to leave the familiarity of their everyday life behind. Overall, the lyrics suggest a sense of restlessness and a yearning for something more, something that can only be found on the open road.

Line by Line Meaning

I take a drive in my car
I embark on a journey in my automobile

I see the sun disappear
I witness the sunset

Oh, little stranger, bring my baby back to me
Oh, mysterious individual, return my loved one to my side

My leather glove grips the wheel
My hand is firmly grasping the steering wheel with the assistance of a leather glove

Windows down and my hair in the breeze
I have opened my car windows, allowing my hair to flow through the passing air

I see the sun reappear
I witness the sunrise

Bring my baby back
Return my loved one to me

I took a drive in my car
I embarked on a journey in my automobile

Bring my baby back home
Return my loved one to our dwelling place

I saw the sun disappear
I witnessed the sunset

Contributed by Alex S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.