A Guide To Chronographs [Special Feature]
Chronographs are a recent discovery, and they’ve made a real impact in a very short time. I’ve written a lot recently about how I try to offer constructive criticism where possible; but I just can’t think of any way to improve this band. Chronographs are like a firework with a lit fuse. Your best course of action is to stand well back, and watch them go.
Back when I spent large amounts of time sitting in ACM lecture theatres discussing the music business, the topic of recorded music release schedules was a common theme. The question of whether or not the album was dead was brought up many times; after all, it’s possible to go onto iTunes and cherry-pick your favourite tracks from your favourite band’s latest album, and leave the rest to languish in a limbo made from ones, zeroes, and bleepy-bloopy server stacks.
My favourite response to this problem hasn’t been widely adopted yet – but Chronographs have completely embraced it, and the results are amazing. Since March this year, Chronographs have been releasing a song a month – and are now four tracks into a 12-track project. One song, every month, for a year.
One of my favourite things about blogging is its immediacy. I can write something, edit it, and have it published online within a matter of hours. This is great fun; but it also brings its own pressures. New questions are raised when you have to keep writing consistently – a common creative question for writers is “How do I write X words a day?”, but as a blogger you don’t get time to answer that question. You just have to find the time to do it, and then make it happen. The question is no longer “How do I write?”, but “How do I make the time?”, “How do I keep it going?”, “How do I keep it fresh and interesting?”, or “How can I have fun even when under pressure?”.
These are all great questions – and Chronographs are clearly finding their own answers. I have a massive respect for their willingness to take this project on, not to mention their ability to pull it off with flying colours. March’s Losing Light kicked things off with a gorgeously mathy riff complete with cute harmonics, the rest of its Biffy-esque bulk rewarding repeated listens; April’s The Hunter keeps the listener off-balance and lost in an ocean of odd meters and syncopated stylistic touches; May’s tune Porcelain hits hard with harsh, passionate lyricism and punchy riffage punctuated with radiant clean sections; and latest track Flat White is a solid slab of rock composed of compressed fragments of summer sunshine and poppy, radio-friendly lyrics.
In 2014 Chronographs seem keen to move far away from their well-watered Protest The Hero / Dillinger Escape Plan-inspired roots – at least, they do so far. But progressive music is supposed to be, well, progressive; and you can’t progress by standing still. By that mark, then, Chronographs are giving their home genre a very good name indeed.
Links / Listen
Chronographs official website.
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