- Released: 1983
- Origin: Middleton, Greater Manchester, England
- Label: Statik
- Best Track: Up the Down Escalator
From listening to a few post-punk playlists, one band that crops up a fair bit and that I’m not very familiar with is The Chameleons. They sound decent, so let’s start with their debut.
The Chameleons seem to fit in somewhere between the DIY of Joy Division and the more radio-friendly Echo and the Bunnymen, reminding me too of later bands Sisters of Mercy and The Mission.
The riffs are gritty and gloomy, while the vocals are sincere and enunciated. ‘Monkeyland’ probably offers the best chorus (“It’s just a trick of the light”), while the album’s first single ‘Up the Down Escalator’ claims the best riff.
With the wandering hook of ‘As High as You Can Go’ and the intensely atmospheric closer ‘View from a Hill’ also among the highlights, its an impressive start to their discography.
366Music 