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.
Shadow
Chromatics Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shadow, take me down with you
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
I'm standing on the shore
Still thinking that I hear your voice
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
At night I'm driving in your car
Pretending that we'll leave this town
We're watching all the street lights fade
And now you're just a stranger's dream
I took your picture from the frame
And now you're nothing like you seem
Your shadow fell like last night's rain
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
The lyrics of Chromatics' Shadow seem to reflect a sense of longing for someone who is no longer present. The repeated lines "Shadow, take me down" and "For the last time" convey a desire to be in the same place as the person the singer is addressing, perhaps for one final goodbye. The use of the word "shadow" suggests a kind of ghostly or ethereal absence, as the person is no longer physically present but still lingers in the singer's memory.
The lines "You're in the water / I'm standing on the shore / Still thinking that I hear your voice" paint a vivid picture of the distance between the singer and the person they are addressing. The use of the water metaphor adds a layer of emotional depth, as it suggests that the person the singer is missing has moved on or departed in some way, perhaps even to the afterlife. The repeated question "Can you hear me?" further emphasizes the singer's sense of disconnection and longing for communication with the absent person.
The final verse of the song suggests a kind of acceptance or resignation to the fact that the person the singer misses has truly left. The use of the metaphor of driving away in a car suggests a sense of escape or moving on, but the line "And now you're just a stranger's dream" reveals that the separation between the singer and the person they miss is still palpable. The repetition of "For the last time" throughout the song creates a sense of finality, as if the singer knows that this is the end of their connection with this person.
Line by Line Meaning
Shadow, take me down
I feel trapped in my life and I want to escape to a place where I can be free.
Shadow, take me down with you
I want to be engulfed by darkness and let it consume me so I can forget my troubles.
For the last time
I'm at my breaking point and I need to let go of my pain and sorrow once and for all.
You're in the water
You've moved on in life, and I'm still stuck in the same place as before.
I'm standing on the shore
I'm observing your life from afar, unable to join you in your journey.
Still thinking that I hear your voice
I can't shake off the memories of our past, and I keep hearing your voice in my head.
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming out to you, hoping you can hear my desperate plea for help.
At night I'm driving in your car
I find myself trying to recreate the moments we shared together, hoping to relive them once again.
Pretending that we'll leave this town
I wish I could escape this place with you, and start a new life elsewhere.
We're watching all the street lights fade
As the night grows darker, we slowly lose ourselves in the moment together.
And now you're just a stranger's dream
Our connection fades away, and it feels like everything we had was just a distant memory.
I took your picture from the frame
I hold onto the memories of you, hoping that they'll bring me comfort in my time of darkness.
And now you're nothing like you seem
The person I remember is different from who you have become, and I struggle to reconcile with that.
Your shadow fell like last night's rain
Your memory haunts me like a shadow, and I can't seem to escape it no matter how hard I try.
Lyrics © ITALIANS DO IT BETTER INTERNATIONAL, O/B/O DistroKid, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Adam Miller, Nathaniel Miller, John Padgett
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Mornporky
Shadow, take me down
Shadow, take me down with you
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
You're in the water
I'm standing on the shore
Still thinking that I hear your voice
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
At night I'm driving in your car
Pretending that we leave this town
We're watching all the streetlights fade
And now you're just a stranger's dream
I took your picture from the frame
And though you're nothing like you seem
Your shadow fell like last night's rain
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
For the last time
@lukedoyle2770
Lynch: You know what goes down great in biker bars?
Person: Heavy metal?
Lynch: No
Person: Punk?
Lynch: No, Dream-Pop. Bikers love Dream-Pop.
@ItaliansDoItBetterMusic
#truth
@w0rloko
good old books and covers
@eddiegrapes8704
I lost my shit when they just played ZZ Top through the PA for one episode.
@daniilashurov135
James loves dream-pop, and he is coolest biker, always was.
@droneswarm7888
@@eddiegrapes8704 Im thinking Billy is actually Stevie Ray Vaugn.
@AcePhoenix
Good choice, Mr. Lynch.
@Mornporky
Mmm
@callahaine100
Every song was great in Twin Peaks season 3 but imo this one is the only one that capture the same magic and ambient as "Falling"
@adorno_gang37
JUST YOU