"Night Drive" is where Chromatics came into their own, crafting their own style heavy in synths and reminiscent of the Italo disco movement of the '80s. A drastic departure from their previous punk roots into a certainly bold new direction.
It starts as a loose concept album with an opening dialogue heard in "The Telephone Call", a simple intro which sets the album in motion, quite literally: a late night drive, going 'til the sun comes up. The soundtrack to its own imaginary noir flick. The segue track borrowed from the album's title sets the tone for the rest of it's runtime, a synth-led track with soothing vocals from the lead Ruth Radelet. It all comes together to create an almost dreamlike and surreal atmosphere that is a feast for the ears. It gives you a moment of levity, free from responsibility as you clear your thoughts and focus on the open road. Nothing else matters for that little while, driving away and around from your problems. The ambience it strives to achieve and ultimately succeeds is unlike any album before it.
The neon-soaked imagery continues onto the track "Running Up That Hill", a reinterpretation of the Kate Bush song from this album's thematic time period. The opening instrumental hook can't help but summon up an almost nostalgic feeling, a sense that something great has passed and there is a longing for it to again be the present. It retains its meaning of two different perspectives, this case gender, never properly aligning with one another and what would happen if an actual swap could possibly happen. This is inevitable of a cover, conflicting with the loose concept established earlier with the late night drive. Individually, however, it is a fantastic track, a perfect continuation of the dreamlike atmosphere mentioned prior.
The succeeding track, "The Killing Spree" is purely instrumental and is ripped from the pages of John Carpenter, its sound being so similar it could fit perfectly into any of his films within that time period. It's an eerie build with the synth gradually building until it drops and lingers before it ceases entirely, serving as an intermission to keep you on your toes which is later used in "Tomorrow Is So Far Away".
The album flows seamlessly from track to track until it comes to a sudden stop with the 15-minute brick wall that is "Tick Of The Clock". Whilst it is not a bad beat in and of itself, even being prominently featured in the wonderful Nicholas Winding Refn film "Drive", it stretches on far too long and ruins the sense of pace that the album had achieved thus far. A shortened version would be much recommended so as not to miss out on what it has to offer, but its length baffles, a mystery as to who thought it would be a good idea to drop what is effectively a 15-minute loop slap bang in the middle of their album.
It immediately course corrects from then on out, continuing the lush atmosphere that the preceding tracks had created earlier with particular highlights such as "The Gemini" in the form of an electronic lullaby or the finale "Accelerator", an epic pumping track to close it all off and consolidating the album's concept. An interpolation of the title track, it ties it all together and gets your head nodding to the thump that kicks in as soon as it starts. It gradually builds to a thrilling climax before the album has its goodbyes and lets you go, presumably as the sun rises.
There isn't much else out there quite like it, "Night Drive" is what it suggests and what its atmosphere is perfect for: a drive to take your mind off things as you go on into the night. Regardless of whether that is achievable or not, this album deserves your attention as it seemingly has gone under many a person's radar. This is the synth noir album you never knew you wanted but were always looking for.
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