Chromatics' first record in five years appeared on Monday, following a steady drip feed of new songs via YouTube over the past couple of months. The first of these was title track "Kill For Love", which emerged in October and was slightly touched up for the record proper. A 4/4 beat sails cleanly through Johnny Jewel's exploding star production, while singer Ruth Radelet's laid-back vocal take lists comforting totems-- pills, a bottle at the foot of the bed, counting down from ten. So when the tension finally breaks, it feels like an irreversible change, as an effervescent guitar races away like a getaway car and Radelet sings, "I killed for love". It's a simple enough refrain, but contains a whole cocktail of intrigue, desperation, romance, and violence. Danger often follows temptation, and "Kill for Love" comes gift-wrapped in the foil of a shimmering, perfect pop song.

[from Kill for Love; out now via Italians Do It Better]