New Music From The Chameleons!

I think I'd heard titterings about this at some point, but when it popped up in my feed this evening, I was kind of blown the f*ck away. From the 3-Song EP out on Metropolis Records now! Order HERE. Apparently a full album is due this fall, and hearing this now, I'm on board. This 100% retains that Chameleons emotional blow, without sounding forced or tired. Love it. 

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NCBD:

Here's this week's Pull, and I'm pretty excited for these:

The untold tale of that time the U.S. Army sent Frank Castle behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War to kill the captured Nick Fury. Written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Jacen Burrows. Can't think of something I want to read more at this moment.

It took a little longer than probably any of us reading it expected, but The Last Ronin II issue 2 finally arrives today. Glad to still have a dose of TMNT for a while, especially in this Miller-esque Dystopian Future-verse.

If Scartlett's mini-series is even half as good as either Duke or Cobra Commander, we're in for a treat. Curious to see how the Energon Universe handles the Arashikage. 

Carter F**king Burke! Who would have thought I'd enjoy seeing him breathe after his part in James Cameron's Aliens? Really digging this series.

Don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out. No, seriously, I will approach this final issue with a modicum of reverence because, despite months now of griping here at the end, I'll miss reading the X books these last couple of years. Luckily, I never went back and filled in the gap between House and Powers and Inferno, so there's still a year or two of actual Hickman-penned issues for me to jump into.

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Watch:

While I found Goodnight Mommy to be pointlessly mean-spirited and just plain awful, I'm a huge fan of Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz's The Lodge. Likewise, after watching this trailer for their new film The Devil's Bath, I'm quite looking forward to it.

While this trailer feels arduously long, I honestly applaud the fact that they don't really tell you all that much. Or at least that's how it feels. Also, there are a handful of images in here near the end that will stay with me for some time.

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Playlist:

Oranssi Pazuzu - Live at Roadburn 2017

Your Black Star - Sound from the Ground

Tennis System - Technicolour Blind

Ghost Bath - Moonlover

Black Pyramid - The Paths of Time are Vast

Frank Black and the Catholics - Snake Oil

Megadeth - Rust in Peace

Revocation - Teratogenesis (deluxe)

Revocation - Eponymous

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Eight of Pentacles - More transformation of Earthly assets

• XIX: The Sun - From the Grimoire, "Taking the Pill will open your eyes."

• Page of Swords - The Earthly aspect of Air. "apply your intellect to something useful!"

The Chameleons - Swamp Thing

In late January my wife went to Austin, Texas for two weeks. During her absence I found myself somewhat in a state of disorder. My routines, namely work, commute, write, watch/read could all remain the same but my down time was eerily lonesome. I had our three cats, but they tend to exist in one of two modes - eating or sleeping - so although they were always present, there was a lack of conversation. During that time I listened to a lot of music, loading the old iPod with a number of records I had been meaning to get around to for some time and spent my days at work getting to know some new music. One of those records was The Chameleons' Strange Times. This was the first Chameleons I'd had the opportunity to delve into and it made a very strong impression very quickly.

One of the things I always find so interesting about the "Post Punk" era is the fact that many of the bands attributed to the genre sound a great deal to my ears the way the British New Wave of Comic creators in the 80's read/looked to my eyes/brain. Killing Joke sounds like 80s/90s Vertigo comics, so does Joy Division, The Smiths*... the list goes on. Upon first listen I found this was also the case with Strange Times, especially the track Swamp Thing, which whether my interpretation was a suggested planted by the title or merely some shared DNA with the book, reminds me so much of the tone of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run that I've pulled the trades I read a scant two years ago back out and am preparing to re-read. It's an eerie, sometimes defeated tone; an often emotionally overwhelming ode to the in between places we often fret to explore, and The Chameleons craft it very well, with a unique approach to arranging the standard rock instrumentation (guitars, bass, kit and keyboards) and a knack for open, verbose lyrics that somehow perfectly balance a line between ambiguity and precision.