Townsend Records

Chameleons

What Does Anything Mean Basically

CD £12.99

January 25, 2009

As one of the most promising British post-punk bands of the 1980s, the Chameleons never quite achieved the success of peers such as the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen, but the Manchester quartet did manage to record three remarkable albums before initially disbanding in 1986. (They would re-form early in the new millennium.) The group's second full-length outing, '85's WHAT DOES ANYTHING MEAN BASICALLY, finds the Chameleons substituting their debut's bristling intensity for a more atmospheric vibe that is announced by the synth-laden opening instrumental "Silence, Sea and Sky."
Despite the emphasis on shimmering production, the ensemble is still capable of fierce, politically charged tunes such as "Return of the Roughnecks" and "Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)" that showcase frontman Mark Burgess's deep, passionate voice. It is Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding's intertwining guitar lines, however, which are steeped in heavy digital delay, that create the Chameleons' signature sound and give the record its striking cohesiveness. The 1995 reissue of the album also includes "In Shreds" and "Nostalgia," the band's earliest tracks, which were produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, XTC), and put the Chameleons on the UK music map.