Chrome announce new studio album to be released in August, tour Europe; [web browser pun redacted because it was not funny]

If you’ve spent any time with the Nurse With Wound list, or with music writers who think it’s okay to use the word “seminal” unironically, you’re probably at least passingly familiar with the San Francisco-based avant-punk/industrial/psychedelic group Chrome. A little-known fact about the band is that Google actually named their popular web browser after them because of how influential their dissonant sound collages and sort-of unsettling album artwork were throughout the early development stages of Gmail and Google Plus. Thanks, Google, for introducing a whole new generation to the mind-bending sounds of one of the coolest bands that ever existed!

The group was formed by the late Damon Edge in 1975, and was throughout its history joined by a wide array of collaborators, perhaps most notably the guitarist Helios Creed, who joined the band just in time to contribute heavily to the classics Alien Soundtracks and Half Machine Lip Moves in 1978 and 1979, respectively. Throughout the 80s, Chrome morphed back into a Damon Edge solo project, however upon Edge’s passing in 1995, Creed again took charge of the music made under the Chrome name.

Now it’s 2014, and Creed has put together a whole new Chrome lineup and recorded a brand-new full-length. Entitled Feel It Like a Scientist (a name inspired by a popular book of pick-up lines for physics grad students) the album began coming together back in 2012 with the addition of guitarist Lou Minatti (a.k.a. Keith Thompson, who also engineered the album), drummer Aleph Omega, and vocalist Anne Dromeda (a.k.a. Monet Clark). The album was composed by Chrome’s current iteration, featuring Creed, Minatti, Dromeda, Aleph Omega, and Tommy Grenas. One track features lyrics by Damon Edge. About the current lineup Creed says, “I have the best band put together, finally. The album coming out… it’s how I’ve always wanted Chrome to sound.” The album is out August 5 on King of Spades Records, and the band is going on a European tour starting in May. For Creed, but one question remains: can you take him higher?

Dates:

05.17.14 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - RockStage (Virada Cultural)
05.21.14 - Munich, Germany - Strom
05.22.14 - Torino, Italy - Magazzino Sul Po
05.23.14 - Bologna, Italy - Freekout
05.24.14 - Milano, Italy - TBA
05.25.14 - Bern, Switzerland - Reitschule
05.29.14 - Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival
05.31.14 - Marsaille, France - L’Embobineuse
06.01.14 - Paris, France - Le Point Ephemere
06.02.14 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Cine Palace
06.03.14 - Frankfurt, Germany - Das Bett
06.04.14 - Cologne, Germany - Underground
06.06.14 - Ebensee, Austria - Kino
06.08.14 - Berlin, Germany - Babylon
06.09.14 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Hall
06.11.14 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
06.12.14 - Oslo, Norway - Bla
06.14.14 - Helsinki, Finland - Äänivalli Fight the Night Festival
06.16.14 - Stockholm, Sweden - TBA
06.17.14 - Gothenburg, Sweden - TBA
06.18.14 - Hamburg, Germany - Markhalle
06.19.14 - Rotterdam, The Netherlands - Vibes
06.20.14 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - OCCII
06.21.14 - London, UK - Electrowerz

• Chrome: https://www.facebook.com/chromechronicles
• King of Spades: http://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/king.of.spades.html

More about: Chrome