An obsidian tale without words. An epic, yet all-too-mortal journey, rolling out like a Jim Dodge fever dream, before plunging headlong into the dark night of the soul. Navigating a series of atmospheric shadow zones, mapped in a chiaroscuro of painterly strokes with grand panoramic vision, Chrome Hill’s En Route pulls straight from the heart, capturing its raw emotion on a widescreen canvas ablaze.

Taking divine inspiration from mood masters such as Ennio Morricone, Paul Motian and Bill Frisell, Chrome Hill squeeze every nuance of feeling, passion and promise from Asbjørn Lerheim’s spacious compositions on this seventh full-length (the first two recorded under the quartet’s previous moniker, Damp). Combining dexterous arrangements with scintillating passages of free-improvisation, the group forge a uniquely atmospheric soundtrack raised in tribute to the indomitability of the human spirit, an album borne of personal trial and tribulation. “This music was written during several stages of grieving,” explains Lerheim. “It traces the ups-and-downs of my daughter’s severe epilepsy, and all that has followed with this life-altering diagnosis.”

Disarmingly poignant pieces such as ‘Climbing’ and ‘Desolation’ are hued direct from despair, insinuating their sombre melodies slowly within the aching extemporised bursts of Atle Nymo’s tenor sax and the subtle pointillist shadings of Torstein Lofthus’ percussive work, while ‘Shimmering Waters’ and ‘Wandering Alone’, featuring Roger Arntzen’s skulking double-bass and Lerheim’s spaghetti-western guitar twang, find Chrome Hill reinforcing their reputation for a distinctively jazz-infused iteration of cinematic Americana, while the album’s title-track erupts in a primal scream, its incendiary exorcism loaded with defiance and yearning, roaring like a chase scene in a freewheeling road movie, capturing Lerheim in full-on fiery Sharrock mode.

Like Robert Burton’s infamous 17th century medical treatise The Anatomy of Melancholy, En Route cleaves despond into component parts, analysing grief from different angles, through a different lens. Seen right up close, the blackness begins to cede to a technicolour dance of bewitching tones, blossoming into creation like the elusive play of phosphenes as you momentarily shut your eyes to the world. Breathe deep, begin again, you’re ready for the next step on this remarkable ride.

Chrome Hill En Route

Music by Asbjørn Lerheim | Arranged by Chrome Hill

Recorded by Kim Lillestøl at Amper Tone Studio, Oslo, Norway, May 9-10, 2024 | Mixed by Johnny Skalleberg at Amper Tone, Oslo, Norway | Mastered by Helge Sten at Audio Virus Lab, Oslo, Norway
Produced by Chrome Hill | Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul | Design and artwork by Travassos