Welcome Back, Chameleons

World of Music (WOM) in the 80s was a German record store chain with locations in select cities. Unlike other stores that offered only a handful of listening stations, WOM had record players installed above the vinyl shelves across all genres, not just the chart-toppers. Before the internet, this was an invaluable way to discover new sounds.

Although there was no WOM in my hometown, I would check out the one in Munich whenever I visited my mother. One day in 1985, they played “Silence Sea and Sky,” the instrumental intro of the second album, What Does Anything Mean? Basically, by the UK band Chameleons over the PA while we were together browsing the store. Since she likes ambient music, she bought the album and asked me to record the track on a cassette tape.

I had never heard of Chameleons before, and I wasn’t really into guitar rock either, so the tracks two to ten felt like a letdown initially. But for some reason, I played the album a few more times until it clicked, and I ended up becoming a fan.

Unlike today, when music spreads around the world at the speed of light, in the 80s, there was little crossover of music between the UK and the US beyond the top hits. So (if I remember correctly), the first time I heard someone else talking about Chameleons was decades later, when we already lived in New York.

Back then in Germany, though, Chameleons were uniquely my band, and I listened to their first two albums on repeat, buying the third one as soon as it was released.

Tomorrow, Chameleons release their fifth album, Arctic Moon, after a 21-year-long break. Bands that return with new music after such a long time rarely match the energy of their early years. However, that isn’t even necessary for this band: Chameleons still deliver their signature rich guitar sound and have something meaningful to say.

Bandcamp Clubs

Bandcamp is launching a new feature called Bandcamp Clubs. We love this: the clubs include human-curated music, interviews, and other content. For $13 a month, you also receive one selected album to keep in your Bandcamp collection.

Of course, it all hangs on the curators and how much your tastes align with theirs. We’re not particularly familiar with any of them, that’s why we wouldn’t invest that money up front. It also doesn’t help that there is no trial available. But we’re very curious to see where this goes.

Five Songs

Listen to glamglare five songs on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube.

• “Home is Where the Heart is,” the penultimate track on Chameleon’s second album What Does Anything Mean? Basically relies more on synth pads than their usual layers of guitars, which served as my entry point into their music. A line in the chorus, „According to Hoyle,“ has long mystified me, and I recently looked it up.
• „Intrigue in Tangiers,“ from the same album has stuck in my mind ever since I listened to the album again a couple of weeks ago. That‘s how much of an earworm it is.
• If you kick off your debut album with a banger like „Don‘t Fall,“ you should be all set for a successful career.
• The intro „Monkeyland“ is irresistible, and the songs are full of lines you want to sing along to: 'It‘s just a trick of the light!'
• „Swamp Thing” is Chameleons’ most successful song from their third album, Strange Times, which is Mark Burgess’s favorite. Still, the album – fortunately not the songs – has all but disappeared from the internet. Strange, indeed.

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on YouTube. Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the 50 latest Song Pick of the Day features, or subscribe here to receive them in your mailbox in real-time. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

• Eleni Drake’s "Half Alive,” is a tender, haunting glimpse into her upcoming album Chuck — a song that lingers long after it ends.
• Natalie Bouloudis is back with „Spinning Planet,“ a slow-burning track that draws you in and won’t let go.
• Ladytron return with “I Believe in You,” a hypnotic electro-pop gem from a band that’s been shaping the sound since the late ’90s.
• Michelle Núñez captures the search for belonging in her dreamy new single "california, home."
• With "About Time," Cate Le Bon  proves once more that beauty lives in repetition and chaos.
• “Wanton” is the latest track from NYC trio  Phantom Wave, diving into relationship dynamics with melodic intensity.
• "Not Wastin’ Time" by Charlie Kogen brings the feel-good Yacht Rock groove we didn’t know we needed.

Nine Photos From Sultan Room to Full Moon

This past week had it all: music, city strolls, and a touch of lottery madness. On Thursday, we crossed over to Brooklyn to see a glamglare favorite, Fenne Lily, play the first of a series of loosely connected “residencies.” And while New York’s billion-dollar Powerball craze lingered in the air, no surprise here: Oliver and I did not win, despite our hopeful ticket with two options.

On Saturday, we did something we hadn’t done in far too long: simply walk out the door and head up Broadway to Union Square. We stopped at shops that caught our eye, wandered the Union Square Market, where I finally found tarragon, the herb I’d been chasing all summer. Just as a thunderstorm broke, we ducked into one of the few remaining Barnes & Noble stores in the city. Once the skies cleared, we treated ourselves to a drink at Lily’s Victorian Establishment, a gorgeous restaurant and bar you should put on your list if you’re ever near Union Square.

The rest of the week stayed slower: sunset at Wagner Park, a quiet Seaport moment on Monday, and finally the full moon — okay, one day late — rising over the Brooklyn Bridge from the calm of our terrace. Enjoy!