Head over Heels (Chromeo album)

Head over Heels is the fifth studio album by Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo. It was released on June 15, 2018, via Big Beat and Atlantic Records. The album features vocals from artists such as The-Dream, French Montana, Stefflon Don, DRAM and Amber Mark, with production work from producers such as Raphael Saadiq, Rodney Jerkins and Pino Palladino.^[7]

Head over Heels
Studio album by Chromeo
Released	June 15, 2018 (2018-06-15)
Recorded	2016–2018
Studio	Chumba Meadows, Tarzana Clift Studios, Brooklyn Liedtke Studios, New York Maddahi Vineyards, Solvang No Nome Studios Studio City The Funklordz Writing Retreat, Ojai The Mothership, Montreal The Private Sector, Burbank TZM Studios, Tarzana^[1]
Genre	Funk^[2]
Length	43:05
Label	Big Beat Atlantic
Producer	A-Trak Chromeo Raphael Saadiq Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Pino Palladino Adam "Ash" Harrison Jason Evigan Ben Maddahi Gian Stone Oligee Gladius James Chris O'Ryan John Cunningham Vaughn Oliver Ian Kirkpatrick Morgan Taylor Reid Ammo DallasK
Chromeo chronology
White Women (2014) Head over Heels (2018) Adult Contemporary (2024)
Singles from Head Over Heels
"Juice" Released: November 7, 2017^[3] "Bedroom Calling" Released: January 29, 2018^[4] "Must've Been" Released: April 6, 2018^[5] "Bad Decision" Released: June 15, 2018^[6]

Background

The album was first announced in November 2017 and a release date for the album in April 2018.^[7] It consists of "talk-box–assisted pop songs about dating mishaps, comically disastrous relationships and anxiety-inducing sexual encounters."^[8] The album's recording process began 2 years before its release with Chromeo stating "...we were impatient to do the new record – so we spent the last two years working on this one [Head Over Heels]."^[9]

Speaking about the album, Chromeo said: "The mission statement for this album, for us, was to kind of pen this overarching love letter to funk music and the different kinds of funk music that have influenced us throughout the years since we discovered funk music when we were teenagers all the way until now... But it's also sort of, you know, going back to the real roots of funk. We made this one much more live, just a little less electronic than our previous two, three albums."^[10]

The artwork displays the legs of Chromeo members instead of a pair of women's legs, which is their signature symbol that has been on the artwork of previous albums.^[11]

A video for "Don't Sleep" was released on December 7, 2018.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2018, Chromeo received their first Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in the 61st Grammy Awards for the album.^[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100^[13]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Consequence of Sound	B−^[14]
Drowned in Sound	9/10^[15]
Exclaim!	7/10^[16]
The Independent	^[17]
Pitchfork	5.7/10^[18]
Rolling Stone	^[19]
Slant	^[20]
Spectrum Culture	^[21]

Pitchfork described the album as "sound[ing] expert, expensive, accomplished, while being distasteful in almost everything else", rating it 5.7 out of 10. They also implied that the album's heavy usage of guest stars was the band's attempt to emulate Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.^[18] Rolling Stone described the album as consisting of moments that are "fleeting and aren't enough to make one fall head over heels", rating it with 3 out of 5 stars.^[19] Songs from the album were described as "chronicles of potential partner worship of goddess devotion" by Drowned in Sound.^[15] Slant Magazine called the album "White Women Part 2".^[20]

Track listing

Head over Heels track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Must've Been" (featuring DRAM)	Patrick Gemayel David Macklovitch Jason Evigan Jacob Kasher Hindlin Gamal Lewis Isaiah Tejada Ammar Malik Shelly Massenburg-Smith William Bastian	Chromeo A-Trak J. Evigan Gian Stone Ash Harrison Ben Maddahi	3:28
2.	"Don't Sleep" (featuring French Montana and Stefflon Don)	Gemayel Macklovitch Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Sean Douglas Karim Kharbouch Stephanie Allen	Chromeo A-Trak Darkchild Oligee Gladius James Harrison Maddahi	3:18
3.	"One Track Mind"	Gemayel Macklovitch J. Evigan Gregory Evigan Lindy Robbins Scott Friedman Talay Riley Lenny Macaluso	Chromeo A-Trak J. Evigan Chris "TEK" O'Ryan John Cunningham Harrison Maddahi	3:23
4.	"Count Me Out"	Gemayel Macklovitch Ian Kirkpatrick Douglas	Chromeo A-Trak Kirkpatrick Harrison Maddahi	3:36
5.	"Bad Decision"	Gemayel Macklovitch Morgan Taylor Reid Annaliese Schiersch Chelsea Lena Peter Harding	Chromeo A-Trak Morgan Taylor Reid O'Ryan Oligee Vaughn Oliver Harrison Maddahi	3:06
6.	"Right Back Home to You (Interlude)"	Gemayel Macklovitch Ian Smith	Chromeo A-Trak Harrison Maddahi	2:43
7.	"Just Friends" (featuring Amber Mark)	Gemayel Macklovitch Charles Wiggins Alexander Frankel Amber Mark	Chromeo A-Trak Oligee Harrison Maddahi	3:49
8.	"Juice"	Gemayel Macklovitch J. Evigan Douglas	Chromeo J. Evigan O'Ryan	3:17
9.	"Slumming It"	Gemayel Macklovitch Kirkpatrick Douglas	Chromeo A-Trak Kirkpatrick Harrison Maddahi	4:30
10.	"Bedroom Calling, Pt. 1"	Gemayel Macklovitch Joshua Coleman Dallas Koehlke	Chromeo A-Trak Ammo Oligee DallasK Harrison Maddahi	3:14
11.	"Bedroom Calling, Pt. 2" (featuring The-Dream)	Gemayel Macklovitch Coleman Koehlke Carlos McKinney Terius Nash	Chromeo A-Trak Oliver Harrison Maddahi	3:24
12.	"Room Service"	Gemayel Macklovitch Douglas	Chromeo Oligee	5:17
Total length:				43:05

Charts

Chart performance for Head over Heels

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[22]	142
French Albums (SNEP)^[23]	189
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[24]	74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[25]	62
US Billboard 200^[26]	91
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)^[27]	1

References

1. "Head Over Heels - Chromeo". AllMusic. from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
2. Grebey, James (June 12, 2018). "Chromeo Are Here Because You Need Funk in Your Life". GQ. from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
3. White, Nick (November 7, 2017). "Chromeo Drops 1st Single In 3 Years, 'Juice'". EDM Tunes. from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
4. "Bedroom Calling". iTunes. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
5. "Must've Been". iTunes. from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
6. Schatz, Lake (May 9, 2018). "Chromeo make a "Bad Decision" on funky new single: Stream". Consequence of Sound. from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
7. Colburn, Randall (April 7, 2018). "Chromeo - Head Over Heels". Consequence of Sound. from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
8. Swann, Jennifer (June 20, 2018). "Chromeo Talk Redefining Sexy on Their New LP". Rolling Stone. from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
9. Trendell, Andrew (May 29, 2018). "Chromeo talk to us about Prince, Stefflon Don, new album 'Head Over Heels' and music in the time of #MeToo". NME. from the original on June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
10. Atkinson, Katie; Caulfield, Keith (June 12, 2018). "Chromeo Talk 'Head Over Heels' Album, Recruiting The-Dream & More for Their 'Love Letter to Funk'". Billboard. from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
11. Castro-Cota, Isabella (June 15, 2018). "Stream Chromeo's New Album Head Over Heels". Spin. from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
12. "Winners & Nominees". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
13. "Head Over Heels". Metacritic. from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
14. Clark, Tyler (June 18, 2018). "Chromeo Stays Consistent with Head Over Heels". Consequence of Sound. from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
15. Wylde, Nicoletta (June 18, 2018). "Chromeo - Head Over Heels". Drowned in Sound. from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
16. Noble-Marks, Eric (June 18, 2018). "Chromeo - Head Over Heels". Exclaim!. from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
17. Kaplan, Ilana; Goggins, Joe (June 13, 2018). "Chromeo's 'Head Over Heels'". The Independent. from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
18. Dorris, Jesse (June 18, 2018). "Head Over Heels". Pitchfork. from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
19. Leight, Elias (June 15, 2018). "Review: Chromeo's 'Head Over Heels' Clings to a Proven R&B Formula". Rolling Stone. from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
20. Hoskins, Zachary (June 14, 2018). "Chromeo - Head Over Heels". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
21. Lampiris, Steve (June 20, 2018). "Chromeo: Head Over Heels". Spectrum Culture. from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
22. "Ultratop.be – Chromeo – Head Over Heels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
23. "Lescharts.com – Chromeo – Head Over Heels". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
24. "Chromeo Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Chromeo – Head Over Heels". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
26. "Chromeo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
27. "Chromeo Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.