Calling all adults: Chromeo is back, and have they got a record for you. It… Read Full Bio ↴Calling all adults: Chromeo is back, and have they got a record for you. It’s brazenly titled Adult Contemporary, and it’s set to redefine the term. There’s a complacency and a softness to “adult contemporary” as we know it, in a pleated khakis and cable-knit sweater kind of way. In the hands of Dave 1 and P-Thugg however, the phrase takes on a whole new meaning. Let’s parse it word by word.

“Adult” is a loaded thing to call someone in this day and age, since adults have basically wrecked our planet. But for Chromeo, to be an adult doesn’t mean being a cog in the square world’s machinery. Rather, it signifies evolution, sophistication, and nuance. Aging like wine or cheese, not like fruit or milk. While we do so, how much of our groove do we actually choose to hold on to? Chromeo says: “all of it.” As you already know (unless you’ve been living in a vibes vacuum since the early 2000s), Chromeo is the paramount funk band of our time. Friends since childhood, Dave and Pee have built an empire of soigné, danceable, and intelligent music over the course of two decades. Few duos can claim this kind of psychic togetherness and evergreen staying power. Really, who else? One must venture into the stratosphere to find precedents. And now that Dave’s double-breasted suits are popping and Pee’s turtlenecks are in effect mode, it’s safe to say that we can rely on Chromeo to stick around for years to come.

Wait, do you want to hear something really adult? Try this on for size: the anguish of late-stage capitalist monogamy is very much a thing. Here, we come to the essence of Adult Contemporary, the most lyrically cohesive Chromeo opus to date: it’s a 14-track meditation on mature relationships. This is perhaps best conveyed in the song “BTS,” which sounds like a classic Chromeo funk jam but, as is often the case with these guys, hides a deeper message. An ode to just going to sleep (“rest can be Better Than Sex”), it’s about that moment in an affair of the heart when you can just say, “Baby, this week was a doozy and I really just need to crash.” How real is that? Or there’s a song like “Personal Effects,” in which Dave reminisces over a partner after seeing her phone charger left at his house. Modern romance, indeed. Throughout the album, songs function like short stories, each a variation on what it’s like to be in love in 2024 – from joyful commitment to crippling co-dependency, from the platonic to the profane. It’s no picnic…yet lo and behold, it can also be hilarious, and Dave and Pee tackle it all in their signature straight-faced style. Lest we forget the core Chromeo value: there is no such thing as irony.

Onto that other word. “Contemporary.” An interesting choice for a band who has always been equally of-the-moment and openly indebted to its ancestors. But in an era when everything is available all the time, seamlessly melding together the new and the old might just be the most contemporary act an artist can commit. Chromeo offers us a singularity of funk, with music more elegant and considered than ever before. Take for instance the lush horn arrangements on “Words With You” and “Lost And Found” or the banging electro-synths in “(I Don’t Need A) New Girl.” This is Chromeo in full two-man studio muso mode, danceable and delicate, simultaneously wielding deft live instrumentation and a relentless four-on-the-floor kick drum that scans the entire record. For the first time in a while, it really is a tandem affair. The previous albums were very much about collaborating. Getting other people involved and going big. Adult Contemporary is more ambitious specifically because it revolves solely around two besties at the top of their game, doing absolutely everything on their own. Hence a deeply intimate feel, with Dave and Pee accomplishing two things at once: getting back to basics in terms of method while also expanding the songwriting and atmosphere. The Chromeo blueprint of maximum funk earnestness sits front and center.

So with that in mind, we invite you to join not only our contemporary times but also the ranks of the grown. Contrary to our infantilizing culture – which would prefer you stunted –, adulthood is a blast. And with a soundtrack such as Adult Contemporary, it’s a place of pleasure, discernment, groove, and comradeship. Come now, dip your toe into the infinity pool of maturity. You’ll find yourself, before too long, happy to evolve funkily alongside Chromeo.

Woman Friend
Chromeo Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gonna take my time, gonna make you my woman
Friend.
Gonna make you mine, cause I don't want this love to
End.

I don't know where I would be
If you're not right here with me.
As my woman friend, you're my woman friend.

As my woman friend, baby you're my woman friend.
(Rah!)

Gonna take my time, gonna make you my woman
Friend.
Gonna make you mine, cause I don't want this love to
End.

I don't know where I would be
If you're not right here with me.
As my woman friend, you're my woman friend.
As my woman friend, baby you're my woman friend.
(Rah!)
I don't know where I would be
If you're not right here with me.
As my woman friend, you're my woman friend.

As my woman friend, baby you're my woman friend.
(Rah!)

Overall Meaning

In the song "Woman Friend" by Chromeo, the singer tells his "woman friend" how much he values her and wants to keep her close. The lyrics suggest that the singer sees his friend as more than just a platonic companion but isn't sure how to approach the relationship. He wants to take his time and make sure that they have a real connection before making a move towards romance. The repetition and emphasis on the phrase "woman friend" suggest that the singer is trying to reinforce their connection and reassure his friend that she is important to him.

The lines "I don't know where I would be/If you're not right here with me" illustrate the strong bond between the two people. The singer relies on his friend for emotional support and values her presence in his life. The song creates a sense of longing and desire, with the repetition of the phrase "gonna make you mine" suggesting that the singer is determined to turn their friendship into something more.

Overall, "Woman Friend" is a song about the complexity of relationships and the importance of communication and vulnerability.

Line by Line Meaning

Gonna take my time, gonna make you my woman Friend.
I will not rush, but I will take my time to become your close friend first, before anything else.

Gonna make you mine, cause I don't want this love to End.
I want to be with you forever, so I will try hard not to mess things up and make you my partner.

I don't know where I would be If you're not right here with me.
I am afraid of the mere idea of being without you and our friendship, that I don't know how to keep going without it.

As my woman friend, you're my woman friend.
I want to emphasize the importance and value of our friendship before anything else, and acknowledge you as my closest companion.

As my woman friend, baby you're my woman friend. (Rah!)
To highlight the significance of our friendship, I would like you to know that I think of you as 'baby', and cheer you on with a "Rah!".

I don't know where I would be If you're not right here with me.
Once again, I emphasize that I really need this friendship and I am afraid of losing it – it is that important to me.

As my woman friend, you're my woman friend. As my woman friend, baby you're my woman friend. (Rah!)
In every possible way, I want you to be my friend, my closest confidant, and someone that I can count on. And so, I repeat, you are my woman friend, my baby, my friend, and I cheer you on with a "Rah!".

Contributed by Stella E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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