Album Review

Diagrams – Chromatics

• 12th Jan 2015

Like contemporaries Spoon and The Weakerthans, it would appear that Full Time Hobby’s perennial favourites Diagrams have a knack for weaving complex lo fi textures together, coupled with an inherently British storytelling style that marries beautifully with their subtly modified soundscapes on latest album ‘Chromatics’.

‘Gentle Morning Song’ is probably the most representative of the overall sound, reminiscent of The Shins fronted by the regionally-accented lilt of songwriter and producer Sam Genders. Indicative of the album as a whole, there’s a bleak Northern-ness to much of this material that’s undoubtedly born from Genders’ new writing and recording base in Sheffield, but is also combined with a cheeky sense of humour and a wry optimism that shines through in witticisms and cleverly coined lyrical phrasings.

Compared to the starkly monochrome digital feel of previous release Black Light, the technicolour analogue of Chromatics is openly celebrated on the title track which bears its name. Genders clearly delights in peppering his material with buzzes, bleeps and a plethora of other concepts that harbour a fuzzy warmth, adding light and shade to the otherwise sparse arrangements. At its best, the album serves as a meandering stroll of a thoughtful mind through a sleeping giant of a city – many references to the dawning of new mornings peppered with birdsong draw interesting parallels to the struggle between anxiety and loss of identity and the blossoming of inspiration and creative endeavour. The organic and leafy ‘Shapes’ is about as close as you can get to a stroll through the deep, dark woods of the human psyche without getting your feet muddy.

Examined as a triumphant whole, it’s clear that the chemistry between Genders and producer Leo Abrahams is what’s really at the heart of this earthily satisfying and, in many ways, spiritual record – a testament to the themes of friendship and new connections that lies at the heart of this album.

– Jamie Otsa

Venue: Chromatics
Support Band: Full Time Hobby