Tonight is an auspicious time! I’ll be seeing Chameleons at a club in nearby-ish Greenville, South Carolina with my friend and neighbor Jacob and thinking back to the time 41 years ago when I first heard the band on WUCF-FM [“Up The Down Escalator”] I could have hardly imagined a time when the band would be playing anywhere near me at all. I was wondering if there would be any reissues of their first two albums on CD at the merch table to buy and it seems like silver discs of Chameleons are only dating back a generation with everything since then on the licorice pizza. So I don;t anticipate being able to buy CDs at the merch table this evening.

But there was a silver lining to my tale; in making the investigation, I found a brand new EP of very early Chameleons songs that the current lineup we’re seeing tonight have recorded to bring the past into the present. The DL EP was released on October 11th, while we were without internet after the hurricane, so that’s my [good] excuse for just posting this review now! I bought the EP this morning and we’ll hold on tightly to hammer out a review on only two listens to the material! So let’s dig in!

Chameleons: Tomorrow Remember Yesterday – US – DL [2024]

1. The Fan And The Bellows – 3:46
2. Nostalgia – 5:21
3. Nathan’s Phase – 3:32
4. Every Day I’m Crucified – 3:46
5. Things I Wish I’d Said – 6:31

“The Fan And The Bellows” dated from the earliest days of 1981 and the band and like many of these, it has surfaced in a BBC radio session or two over the years. It was built on a serrated rhythm guitar riff and a series of collapsing drum fills that maintain urgency throughout the song. It also helps the conceit of recording a new version of a band’s song over 40 years later when we factor the vitality of Mark Burgess into the equation. His vocal prowess sounds undimmed by the march of the years.

I’d heard the 1981 version of “Nostalgia” on the “What Does Anything Mean, Basically” CD as a bonus track. The version here also features synthesizers prominently rubbing elbows with the guitars the band is best known for. I especially liked the rhythm guitar figure adding an element of hope to the vibe. The climax where Burgess repeatedly exhorts “nostalgia will lead me away” while the swell of backing vocals perform an evocation of an e-Bow solo sends warm chills down the spine.

The ringing guitar lines of “Nathan’s Phase” contrasted with what sounded like double picking overlaid on it [it might be synths and a delay] that gave the brief song a breathless sense of hanging in midair right up to the cold ending where Burgess simply said “stop.” The lurching riff that “Every Day I’m Crucified” hung on bore slight, ironic resemblance to the one from “My Sharona.” But Mark Burgess was exploring instead a vivid metaphor of life’s essential struggle, not trolling for underage girls. He wouldn’t waste our time and mind with that! As the defiant and circular riff on the chorus drove home its point with brio.

The closing “Things I Wish I’d Said” was the longest song here at 6:31 but the energy with which it defined its position enlivened this rare glimpse of Burgess singing about how he’d managed to say and do the wrong things when presented with a romantic opportunity. I do think that this was the first Chameleons song I’ve ever heard that was not about the highest philosophical stakes in life but instead about the dance we all stumble through.

The EP will serve as a appetizer for the next move for Chameleons, which will be their upcoming “Arctic Moon” album on Metropolis Records, now mooted for 2025. Earlier this year I had imagined that it might be ready in time for this show but apparently not. Fans can get this EP at the band’s Bandcamp page in a variety of lossless/lossy formats [the best thing about Bandcamp is that you can have them all once paying] for $6.00 so DJs hit that button! Meanwhile, we see Chameleons in just a handful of hours now so join us tomorrow for the concert review.

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