Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Canada has always been quietly hip, the place to have some background in, it might not have had the appropriation of the vogue placed upon it as cities in America or Europe was lavished with by the so called fashionably elite, the Madison Square set or the Carnaby Street trendy. Instead, Canada’s appeal wasn’t in the passing fancy but in the long term benefits, its wide outdoors, the feeling of freedom perhaps untouched by centuries of interference by humanity, solid, dependable and rugged, the polish of elemental Chrome giving it a shine that has lasted in the 150 years of the name and the proud history before.
It is a shine, a natural occurring lustre and sense of the excel that Toronto should be a place that rises upwards out of the shoreline surrounding it, the view from the C.N. Tower catching the early dawn and the signal that it an area in which live music and the studio act can live with honour and possess the storm that crackles with energy; an energy that lives and breathes with wild anticipation and assured style in Betty Moon.
The album takes on the concept of relocation, that perception of life that some shy completely away from, some wish to embrace but ultimately fail to secure because of pressure from family or situations, the very lucky few find the place where they are meant to be in life and even if it means leaving a city that captures the idealism of a new world and then finding the place that captures the very best of dreams.
Chrome is fearless, an album that emulates the singer’s outlook and embracing of life, it has dynamism, a full throttle love that is unmistakeable and is enough to light up a dance floor all on its own, absolutely no need to wire up a solar farm to illuminate the room, Ms. Moon sorts it out easily.
The album’s strength lays in the personality of the singer, her voice is full and surrounding, it is the character of a woman to whom the path has always seemed destined to take her on this journey; Toronto to Hollywood, a straight line only with a great lake to cross, it is almost as if the majesty of the C.N. Tower showed her the way.
In tracks such as Liar, Bullet To My Brain, Afterglow, Natural Disaster and Life Is But A Dream, Ms. Moon relishes in the power provided her, the natural easy charm a quality of virtue and as Chrome grows, as it develops, it is seen to nurture the listener’s soul and feel its own grace shone brightly.
Chrome is a tremendous addition to Betty Moon’s discography, one that really has a beat, a dynamic pulse strewn throughout.
Betty Moon releases Chrome on August 25th
Ian D. Hall