Following a triumphant 2024, the celebrated Manchester-formed Post-Punk legends CHAMELEONS (formerly THE CHAMELEONS) are revving up momentum with the announcement of their long-awaited new album, ‘Arctic Moon’. Scheduled for release on 12th September 2025 via Metropolis Records, it follows the ‘Where Are You?’ and ‘Tomorrow Remember Yesterday’ EPs that were issued last year.“Our new album is finally finished and being prepared for release,” beams vocalist and bassist Vox (aka Mark Burgess). “There is an obvious maturity to the songwriting on this record, while anyone familiar with our past work will hear that this is a positive step forward.”
The band will continue to tour extensively either side of album release, with dates in Spain and Portugal between 6th-19th June followed by a set at the Forever Now festival in Milton Keynes on 22nd before a return to the US for headlining shows plus a dozen with THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS commencing on 26th.
A further headlining tour of North American cities kicks off a fortnight after the release of ‘Arctic Moon’, plus mainland European dates in Germany and the Benelux scheduled from late October ahead of a previously announced UK tour in November. All concert and ticket info can be found HERE.
“We’re really pleased with how the album has turned out and really looking forward to the challenge of performing songs from it live when we begin the ‘Arctic Moon’ tour,” continues Vox. “For the first time, we’ve been able to use real orchestral strings on a couple of songs, which were arranged and performed by Pete Whitfield at Real Strings in Manchester. They have been given a truly epic quality, but we have every confidence our keyboard player Danny [Ashberry] will utilise all his skill to help bring this to the stage!”
Long cited as a hugely influential act, having inspired the likes of (THE) VERVE, OASIS, INTERPOL, THE KILLERS, EDITORS and WHITE LIES, CHAMELEONS are renowned for their transformative catalogue and intense, emotionally charged live performances, creating a legacy that extends far beyond their four studio albums to date. Their widely acclaimed debut, ‘Script of the Bridge’ (1983) has been cited by many as a masterpiece way ahead of its time, and was followed by ‘What Does Anything Mean? Basically!’ (1984), ‘Strange Times’ (1986) and ‘Why Call It Anything?’ (2001).
With ‘Arctic Moon’ soon to be added to these, the band has propelled forward musically while retaining the essence that made them iconic. “While we are proud of the band’s legacy, we really wanted to forge something fresh while retaining that profound and imaginative quality we are known for,” Vox reflects. “We think that we have managed to do that and deliver a very strong record.”
With new music from ‘Arctic Moon’ to be rolled out in the coming weeks, Vox and the band are excited for this next chapter in the band’s story. “Everyone involved brought their ‘A’ game to this project and personally I can’t wait for people to hear it,” he says. “I’m sure we can generate a lot of momentum that will propel us forward and galvanise the band for the next album we make.”
line-up
Mark Burgess (Vox) - vocals, bass
Reg Smithies - guitar
Stephen Rice - guitar
Danny Ashberry - keyboards
Todd Demma - drums
Photography by Mick Peek
Source: Press Release
