Song Spotlight: The Chameleons' Feels Like The End Of The World (a night at the Belasco)

For a band that formed in 1981 and has taken some rather lengthy breaks (per Wikipedia, two breaks that lasted over a decade each), The Chameleons have had a rather active 2025. They spent July touring with the Psychedelic Furs across the United States. Their first full length album in 24 years, Artic Moon, was released in September. Then they did a 11 stop headline tour across the west coast of the United States during parts of September and October. When this posts on my personal blog, they'll be in the middle of European tour.  

The Chameleons at the Belasco

I got the opportunity to cover their Los Angeles tour stop at the Belasco for US Rocker Music. You can read my review here.  

Lead singer Vox (previously known as Mark Burgess) had this to say about the new album in their PR release, "“Everyone involved brought their ‘A’ game to this project and I can’t wait for people to hear it. It’s quite different from anything Chameleons has done before, and I know this will probably polarize the legacy audience, but we’re quite excited about how it’s developing.” 

The band definitely did not shy away from playing the songs from the album. Of the 7 song album, the band performed five of them. They started off the set with "Where Are You?" and ended the night with "Feels Like The End Of The World."    

The Chameleons at the Belasco

"Feels Like The End Of The World" starts out just like the opening lyrics, a bright and upbeat start to the moment where anything seems possible. The song almost has one skipping across the sidewalk.

Imagine I open my eyes to greet a brand-new day
I banish all troubles and thoughts of the bills I have to pay

Yet the song is a mirage. It is almost as if someone is waking up with blinders on and can only see optimistic side of life, ignoring the pain and suffering. 

I've seen it before, empathy wither and die

I've seen it before, hard to ignore when it feels like the end

The Chameleons at the Belasco

What does Vox take comfort in? He spent parts of the song hugging his guitar. And perhaps he takes comfort in knowing that their fan base love their music, especially their new music, "Thank you very much, LA."

Setlist: Where Are You?, The Fan & the Bellows, Pleasure and Pain, Lady Strange, Perfumed Garden, Looking Inwardly, Paradiso, David Bowie Takes My Hand, Saviours Are a Dangerous Thing, Soul in Isolation, Swamp Thing, Feels Like The End Of The World. Encores: Second Skin, Don't Fall.