I feel like every time I write about Chemtrails I spend a lot of time trying to explain the band's sound. And I think that's because I sort of envy someone hearing this band for the first time. Hearing this for the first time and, I think, exclaiming, "Finally!" This group sounds like about a dozen other great bands and simultaneously like no one else. But it's the sort of sound you feel like you've waited ages to hear, if that makes any sense. The outfit's newest release, The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable, roars out of PNKSLM HQ on Friday and it's worth a word of praise for the uninitiated.
"Blurred Visions" and the ultra-catchy "Paranoiacs" blend glam rock silliness, Pixies-style wigged out riffs, and the revved-up energy of acts from the New Wave of New Wave to deliver the goods. The cuts reassure that, even with main players Mia Lust and Laura Orlova having moved to Manchester from London, and having added new members to the band, that the Chemtrails magic is intact. Even so, "Rats" seems more complex, and punchier perhaps, than earlier compositions, even as "Frightful in the Sunlight" speeds forward like The Buzzcocks covering a stomper from The Sweet. The number is a real highlight of The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable, and a neat distillation of the myriad influences at work here behind these two main musicians and the beautiful chaos they're churning up.
And, as usual, there are so many genres being mashed together here that one has to applaud the inventiveness of this band, even if you're a new fan. "Uncanny Valley", for example, feels like a mix of Abba and The Sultans of Ping F.C., you know? But it works! Whatever weird juxtaposition you're hearing in the music of Chemtrails in 2020 only makes the resulting song a richer listen somehow. And the blend of unique elements here gives this music the kind of currency that allows the tunes to seem fresh long after those of other bands would have gone stale. If the move to Mancester changed Mia and Laura's outlook, I can't quite tell, but the tunes here seem bigger somehow, with hooks that are huge. This record, like each Chemtrails release before it, is like a big vial of sugar shot into the veins, enough that it causes the recipient to bounce around and off walls for a bit after the initial injection. Play this loud, play this often, and get on the Chemtraisl bandwagon.
The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable is out tomorrow via PNKSLM.
More details on Chemtrails via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: PNKSLM]