Gig Review: I Feel like Life has no Beginning

Along time ago, when I still lived in the beautiful county of Norfolk, and spent my days watching rare butterflies and ducklings, I heard Saint Etienne’s ‘Wilson’. Its cheeky repetitive samples enchanted me. My love affair with Saint Etienne ended not long after. I tried to like them, but they veered too far into shit rock pop and lost everything that made them fun, alternative and uniquely different.

I can’t quite put my finger on why, but when I first heard Chromatics they reminded me of Saint Etienne. Do they resemble the kind of band that Saint Etienne could have been, if they had been depressively good? Instead of finding their inspiration in Stock, Aitkin and Waterman’s candy floss factory of sugar coated hits, Chromatics appear to have been wandering lost in the fields of Interpol’s darkest dreams.

As I watched Chromatics play last night, the understated vocals, gently searing guitars and dark beats had me gripped. Every song, until the very last, was perfectly formed and performed.

Ruth Radelet’s vocals were perfectly attuned to her voice and not once did she venture into the painful warbling that so many female singers find it impossible to resist.

The last song, a crowd pleaser for sure, broke the beautiful spell. “I’m Running up that Hill”, as much as one might try, cannot be sung without a warble. Where once Ruth’s voice had been flawless, it struggled.

Chromatics would be better suited to covering NYC, and deadpanning “The subway is a porno. Pavements they are a mess. I know you've supported me for a long time. Somehow I'm not impressed.” I assure you it would be fantastic with Radelet’s non-committal, apathetic and mesmerising voice. It even has a repetitive chorus.

Next time, hopefully, they will heed my advice.

From yours truly, set in Norfolk where "Godzilla eats Diss".