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Oct 01, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Johnny Jewel Chromatics

Chromatics are releasing a brand new album at midnight tonight, but it’s not their long delayed new album, Dear Tommy. Instead it’s a brand new album entitled Closer to Grey featuring all new tracks. Due to the time difference, the album is already out in Australia and New Zealand, hence the leaked info of this surprise release. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Dear Tommy is never coming out, as Closer to Grey is listed by the band as their seventh album, with Dear Tommy still considered their sixth. Below is the tracklist and cover art for Closer to Grey and later we’ll be posting the full stream of the album when it’s out in America.

The band’s Johnny Jewel has released a simple statement about the album: “Music is medicine.”

Closer to Grey is the band’s first new album in seven years, since 2012’s Kill For Love, although there’s been no shortage of Chromatics and Johnny Jewel music since then, even if there has been no word yet on when Dear Tommy will be released.

In August they shared a cover Jackson C. Frank’s “Dialogue (I Want to Be Alone),” changing the title to simply “I Want to Be Alone,” via a video for the track directed by Jewel.

Back in February they shared a video for a new song, “Time Rider” (which was one of our Songs of the Week) and announced a full North American tour. Then in May they shared a cover of Hole’s “Petals,” a song originally found on the Courtney Love-fronted band’s 1998 album Celebrity Skin. Chromatics’ version came from the soundtrack to the Netflix movie The Perfection, a horror/thriller starring Allison Williams (Girls, Get Out) as a cellist. Last year the band shared videos for the new songs “Black Walls” (which was one of our Songs of the Week) and “Blue Girl.”

Chromatics were supposed to release Dear Tommy in 2015 (it was announced in December 2014). Then frontman Johnny Jewel had a near-death experience in Hawaii on Christmas Day 2015 and afterwards he destroyed all copies of Dear Tommy in order to re-record it to better capture the sound he was going for. It was then announced that it would come out last fall, but that never happened.

Last year Jewel also released a whole separate album, Themes for Television, which was partly inspired by Twin Peaks. And the band surprise released a brand new EP, Camera, that was a vinyl-only release, there was no digital stream or download.

Closer to Grey Tracklist:

01. The Sound of Silence - 3:16
02. You’re No Good - 4:52
03. Closer to Grey - 2:44
04. Twist the Knife - 3:27
05. Light as a Feather - 3:36
06. Move a Mountain - 3:12
07. Touch Red - 5:12
08. Through the Looking Glass - 1:42
09. Whispers In the Hall - 3:24
10. On the Wall - 8:21
11. Love Theme From Closer to Grey - 2:40
12. Wishing Well - 3:20

Chromatics Tour Dates:

10/04/2019 - Copenhagen- Store Vega
10/05/2019 - Stockholm - Berns
10/07/2019 - Oslo - Rockefeller Music Hall
10/09/2019 - Berlin - Astra Kulturhaus
10/11/2019 - Vilnius - Art Factory Loftas
10/12/2019 - Warsaw - Praga Centrum
10/14/2019 - Vienna - Arena
10/16/2019 - Prague - MeetFactory*
10/17/2019 - Munich - Muffathalle
10/19/2019 - Cologne - Bürgerhaus Stollwerck
10/22/2019 - Dublin - Vicar Street
10/23/2019 - Manchester - Albert Hall
10/24/2019 - Glasgow - SWG3
10/26/2019 - Bristol - Anson Rooms
10/27/2019 - London - The Roundhouse
10/29/2019 - Antwerp - Trix
10/30/2019 - Amsterdam - Paradiso
11/01/2019 - Paris - Pitchfork Festival
11/02/2019 - Torino - Club To Club

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