Chromatics return with their second full-length album, "Plaster Hounds," the follow-up to their recent Ice Hatchets single (which unveiled the re-worked lineup of original vocalist/guitarist Adam Miller and new bassist/vocalist Nat Sahlstrom). The dark, ever-turbulent combo have temporarily recruited renowned percussionist Ron Avila (GET HUSTLE, HOLY MOLAR and formerly ANTIOCH ARROW and FINAL CONFLICT fame) to round out their swirling, hypnotic punk dubs and help "steer the band into rhythmic bliss" that their drumbox never could. The resulting 10 tracks, recorded in July 2003 by Jeremy Romagna at Type Foundry Studios, are often-bleak post-punk dirges that frequently blossom with unexpected melody and sophistication. Comparisons to NY pioneers of the sixties and seventies like SUICIDE and SILVER APPLES aside (indeed they've included a passionate rendering of the APPLES' 1968 classic "Program"), CHROMATICS have succeeded in reinventing themselves while paying homage to the foundation laid by the original quartet on 2002's "Chrome Rats vs. Basement Rutz" album. "Plaster Hounds" is the sound of the new minimalist cacophony.