Review of Heart of Sawdust, originally published in Punk Planet issue #72, March / April 2006. Written by Chris Burkhalter.
I’m told this Philly-based outfit puts on impressive shows, playing music from, and inspired by, video game soundtracks. Whether or not they cite The Legend of Zelda as a defining influence, 1970s progressive rock seems a more useful point of reference. Consisting of eight showy virtuosos of such instruments as violin, Theremin, and accordion (guitars too), Chromelodeon plays for the duration of the album’s thirty minutes something not unlike the giant, cataclysmic finale of a particularly heavy King Crimson workout. Highly operatic and surprisingly witty, these guys don’t sound a thing like any other working band that I know.
