The Hamilton Spectator
Go, Thursday, December 18, 2003, p. G15

Chrome Yellow Co. strips down its sound

James Hayashi-Tennant
The Hamilton Spectator

Chrome Yellow Co. is feeling a little exposed ... musically at least.Its new mini-album, Red Light Runners, is its most barebones recording yet. The music has been stripped of extra sounds and instruments, and beneath the layers, it seems, lay the heart of a pop band.

"All of our songs started off as pop, to use the term loosely," says vocalist Luca Ciardullo, "but after overdubbing all of the other non-pop elements, violin, harp, synth, etc., the songs became somewhat eccentric.

"Red Light Runners is straight-up guitar, bass, and drums. We are fully exposed and unrefined, not hiding behind anything extra."

That isn't to say Ciardullo was hiding when he wrote the songs on Man Waiting For Train, the Hamilton group's 1999 debut. He was simply influenced by various '80s sounds or at least the alternative side of that decade. It was filled with pop-rock melodies, but they were combined with shoe-gaze atmospherics.

By the second album, Gathered Far Distant, Ciardullo's writing was more confident. Live music fans in Hamilton took notice as the group gathered a following at home and beyond. They even charted top-10 at campus stations across the country.

Red Light Runners promises to further that success as the band's four members (Ciardullo, drummer Mario Spina, bassist Charlie Tirone and guitarist Rico Tudico) all share songwriting duties for the first time.

"It inspires a lot of different ideas when all four of us are working," says Ciardullo, "so the songs have naturally changed a little bit. The sounds have changed for sure because the recording (quality) is getting better, but I think basically utilizing everybody's ideas made a difference. The songs are more a reflection of all four of us."

When the time came to add more sound in the studio, they opted to keep it simple. As a result, tracks like Electric Eyes are sleeker, with the hook gleaming in the foreground, giving it more immediate impact.

It was recorded with the help of someone not known for "pop" tendencies -- Chris Bell, front man for local heavy rockers Chore. With his unbiased (or at least differently biased) ear to guide them, Chrome Yellow Co. recorded what Ciardullo calls its "current set list," songs they've been playing live for the past year.

James Hayashi-Tennant is program director at 93.3 CFMU FM.

What: Chrome Yellow Co. CD Release Party, w/ Shade; In Silent Code

When: Saturday, Dec. 20, 9 p.m.

Where: The Underground, 41 Catharine St. N