Local Review: The Drought, Emmy Gilbert — CHROME

The Drought, Emmy Gilbert
CHROME
Self-Released
Street: 08.06.2025
The Drought = Radiohead + Florence and the Machine

Last August, The Drought collaborated with Emmy Gilbert to put together CHROME, an EP that is described by the band as “a selection of five songs that each display a unique attribute of The Drought.” According to the band, the EP has been four years in the making and it shows just how strong the material is here. As cliche as it is to say, “the slower the cook, the better the taste,” to describe this record, I find it to be an accurate summation of the contents, which range from introspective to bombastic — from Neo-folk to break-beat without missing a step.

As the band describes, “CHROME is honestly introspective and questions why we grieve, what is left when we are not our best, and why we cope with vices.”  I’d be inclined to argue the band takes a very intelligent lyrical approach to this stance. Take the second track “Sterility,” a folkish ballad about the cold callousness of a loveless relationship — or my favorite track “Foam Physics,” an indie track backed by a stellar jungle-esque drum performance by Jackson Green. “So Far Flung” describes the use of drugs to cope with the woes of the world, with the lines “We will cheat with the needle, so far flung from the meaning of yes”.

Gilbert’s vocal performances here really bring the songs home in that regard as well. The singer-songwriter and techno producer doesn’t give a particularly outspoken performance, but one that’s rather closed in and melancholic, bordering on uncomfortability. It’s a vocal performance that fundamentally ties a ribbon around the lyrics. The mixes are stellar here as well — everything sits where it is supposed to feel. You’ll hear a lot of Radiohead style drums here, the sort of blown out and saturated mono feel you hear a lot on OK Computer, and the upset sputters and moans of drum machines heard on Kid A. It’s done very tactfully here.

The pitfall that many artists fall into when attempting to create a novel or unique sound stems from a high level of conscientiousness; A perverted sense of detail oriented creativity and ambition results in an insistence to be jamais-vu, or “never before seen.” This drive occasionally results in some incredibly unique envelope-pushing outcomes (see: the post-rock movement), but most of the time results in a sound that is so outlandish, hostile, or otherwise unlistenable that the general public discards the music without further thought. CHROME certainly isn’t jamais-vu, but it is a breath of fresh air. CHROME is diverse and novel in its soundscape without coming off as avant-garde.

Rather bluntly, CHROME demonstrates everything I look for in a good record — No half-baked ideas, ideas that are well executed, a good mix backed by a competent producer and a novel sound, albeit not so novel that it’s unlistenable. Fans of indie and alternative rock looking for something local and new will find a lot to enjoy in CHROME. Emmy Gilbert and The Drought’s CHROME is available on all streaming platforms. —Ezra Smith

Read more music reviews by Ezra Smith:
Local Review: T. Playwright — THE MOON WATCHES ALL: FABULAM NARARRE.
Local Review: Beatnik — Life Sucks… Then You Dance

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