The Chameleons are back in the terrarium. The beloved Manchester post-punk band have released the Where Are You EP, their first new music offering since 2001’s Why Call It Anything? and a preview for their upcoming new album, Arctic Moon.
Chameleons have been officially reformed since 2021, when lead singer and bassist Mark Burgess reunited with guitarist Reg Smithies for the 2022 live album Edge Sessions (Live from the Edge). They were joined by guitarist Chris Oliver and drummer Stephen Rice, and played several shows in the last two years — including a tour opening for LA goth rockers She Wants Revenge.
Now, they’re gearing up to release Arctic Moon, which is due out on Metropolis Records later this year. The Where Are You EP comprises of three tracks, “Where Are You?,” “Endlessly Falling,” and “Forever,” which will all appear on Arctic Moon. “It’s exciting to finally be putting out fresh Chameleons material for the first time in over twenty years, although initially I found it quite daunting,” Burgess said in a statement.
“The question about new music is one I had been asked the most from people coming to the shows, a great many of whom weren’t even born when those records were originally made but nevertheless were excited and inspired by the music enough to catch multiple shows on multiple tours.” Arctic Moon will also be the band’s first album without founding drummer John Lever, who died in 2017, as well as without guitarist Dave Fielding. Stream the Where Are You EP below.
Meanwhile, The Chameleons are heading back on tour to celebrate their 1986 album Strange Times, which they will play in full throughout North America (get tickets here). “I initially wasn’t a huge fan of album performance tours I believed instead that they ought to have been confined to one-off, special events. Performing Strange Times changed my mind,” said Burgess. “For one thing, the album marked a significant evolution by the band both in its sound and the maturity of the writing. Secondly, it’s a challenging album to perform live and thus, it’s much more fun to play. When all is said and done, we look forward to recreating this particular album for our North American fans!”
The tour kicks off on May 30th in San Diego and runs through June, picking back August for some East Coast dates. Their tour ends with a show in Washington D.C. on August 17th; get tickets for all their shows here, and see below for their full list of tour dates.
Chameleons 2024 Tour Dates:
05/30 — San Diego, CA @ Music Box
05/31 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
06/04 — Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
06/05 — Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
06/06 — Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
06/07 — Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
06/08 — San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
06/09 — San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
06/11 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
06/12 — Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater
06/13 — Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
06/14 — Dallas, TX @ Sundown at The Granada
06/15 — Houston, TX @ Dark Ceremony Festival
06/17 — El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
06/18 — Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
06/19 — Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
06/20 — Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit Live
08/08 — Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
08/09 — New Haven, CT @ Space Ballroom
08/10 — Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
08/12 — Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
08/13 — Toronto, ON @ Opera House
08/14 — Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
08/15 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
08/16 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
08/17 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat
12/06 — Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory +
12/07 — London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire +
12/12 — Glasgow, UK @ Garage
12/13 — Newcastle, UK @ Riverside
12/14 — Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall +
+ = w/ Membranes