Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones - The Neighbourhood: Review
is a California pop rock band who first broke out in the early 2010's with their mega-hit single Sweater Weather. Chip Chrome is their 4th album and represents a major shift for the band both sonically and promotionally.
Review By Lavender:
I've been a fan of The Neighborhood since they first emerged with a series of viral singles across their first two records that made up moody pop rock anthems like Sweater Weather, Daddy Issues and R,I,P 2 My Youth. Their self-titled third record in 2018 turned out to be my favorite of their full length albums so far with a much more sonic consistently and improvements in their songwriting formula. I was excited for this record after a few singles even though they are an inconsistent bunch. But once I saw that the record was just barely over 30 minutes long and we had already heard more of it then not my excitement dulled. However I don't think anything would have prepared me for just how little the record actually has to offer beyond a few decent singles.
The two singles that had me excited for the record held up in the context of the record. Lost In Translation kicks off with soul samples like it's a Kanye song. The song is lively with bright instrumentation that feels ready to be samples itself plus there's an exciting hook. The song maintains an effortless breezy attitude through a number of transitions and the result is a pretty good tune. Cherry Flavoured may be my favorite song on the entire record and it's certainly the best ballad. Even with Jesse delivering an incredibly simple hook his charm as a vocalist shines through and the track finds success in some of it;s most intimate moments. The only other track I enjoyed nearly as much as these was Silver Lining which grew on me a lot after consecutive listens. The Neighborhood usually aren't great with sunnier tracks but I think this may be there best shot at it yet. They combine an instantly infectious hook with some shimmering guitars and a bright mix and I can't get enough of the combination.
The other trio of singles range from tolerable to completely forgettable starting with Middle Of Somewhere which came out all the way last back in 2019. I think the song is decent despite the fact that it is SUCH an obvious rip off of Post Malone's Stay. While Jesse is certainly a more capable vocalist than Post the songwriting here still doesn't reach far past bar band quality. Devil's Advocate is built around a slick bassline that is admittedly pretty cool at first but it gets old. It doesn't really help that this is one of the bands more uninspired hooks and the almost painfully simple drum pattern also brings nothing to the table. Parts of it are alright but it doesn't add up to a great song, which is more than I can say for Pretty Boy. The song was my least favorite single and the albums first real track, a very very basic ballad with an instrumental so non-existent it could be a Cigarettes After Sex song. Despite the relatively non-eventful verses I can't help but enjoy Jesse's hook but it is really the only thing the song has going for it.
Hell Or High Water has a watery guitar lick that sounds like something from Spongebob and kind of makes me laugh though not in a way that I think the band intended. The really low impact of the whole track makes it hard to take any of the sentiments seriously and all I can say is that I'm glad it's of the shorter songs here. BooHoo is the records most awkward song with the hook feeling like a completely different track from the verses and those verses sound terrible as they alternate between short sung verses and annoying synth bleeps. I definitely think the half rapped second verse is much better but the whole song still feels like a mostly trite attempt at a pop crossover song. Tobacco Sunset is the longest track on the record by over a minute and I can't think of one good reason why. I also can't think of a single defining factor to the track after listening to it because it is really as simple as an extremely slow developing western flavored acoustic guitar ling and Jesse's low impact vocals. Even when the extra instrumentation rushes into the song it barely reaches anything beyond boredom.
And that's pretty much it. The record is short, doesn't have much going for it and is by far the weakest collection of tracks the band has released so far. While I will certainly be anticipating what they do next I can't see myself coming back to this record much and I hope it turns out to be a short lived thematic diatribe for the band that they don't come back to. 4/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
This cover is really cool. I love the composition and the heavy left side. the right side doesn't feel empty because of the shadow and dappled light filling the space. The color is awesome and really gives you the feeling of shiny chrome or metal. The only thing I would change is the styling of Jesse's clothing, it seems like that is the only thing that hasn't had enough effort put into it. The aesthetic is also cohesive across their music videos and I always appreciate that. 6/10
