Chrome was intended by the band to be a departure into more hard rock territory when compared to their debut, Ferment. Bassist Dave Hawes explained, "The main thing I remember when going to record Chrome was that we didn't just want to make Ferment 2. And through continually touring between Ferment and going into record Chrome we had evolved into a harder sounding band. It just seemed a natural process and so Chrome turned into a harder sounding album and I think Gil Norton was the perfect producer for us at that point of time. We went in with the songs well-rehearsed and I really enjoyed recording Chrome especially doing it in Britannia Row Studios where Joy Division had recorded Closer ". The album cover photo was shot in an indoor swimming pool by Storm Thorgerson of the Hipgnosisdesign company. In 1999, the cover of this album appeared as the cover of the Hipgnosis/Thorgerson retrospective book Eye of the Storm: The Album Graphics of Storm Thorgerson. The CD version was also available in a limited edition version with a shiny chrome-looking cover with embossed writing on it. The track "Ursa Major Space Station" was named after a guitar effects pedal, while "Fripp" was named after King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.
Promotion and release
Chrome peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. It was supported by the single "Crank", a No. 5 Modern Rock Tracks hit. Music videos were filmed for singles "Crank", "Show Me Mary" and "The Nude". The video for "Crank" featured the band playing in a hotel elevator and lobby to a motley cast of hotel guests, with several scenes emulating the persecution, death, and resurrection of Jesus; "Show Me Mary" had the band being driven around in a taxi; "The Nude" featured the smearing of wet clay across a topless woman's torso. Catherine Wheel embarked on tours with Slowdive, Chapterhouse and INXS, among others, to promote this album.
Reception
Melody Maker described Chrome as "a tighter, more robust affair" than Ferment and "perhaps the ultimate Catherine Wheel album". NME called it "a triumph". In Trouser Press, Jack Rabid wrote that the album "combines songwriting prowess with more raging playing, pop tunes gone kablooey and a huge bonfire sound with a faint metal edge." Writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, Anna Robinson was less favourable, describing much of the album's material as "comparatively lightweight" compared to Ferment. "Crank" was included in PopMatters 2010 list of the "Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". In 2016, Chrome was placed 9th in Pitchforks list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time".
