- A guitar-heavy downtempo record that nevertheless captures the US artist's usual magic.
- Anthony Naples' latest album, Chameleon, finds him recording with live instruments for the first time. Where the gridlocked grooves on his prior releases brought to mind afterhours loft parties, Chameleon feels more suited for a walk home in those liminal hours when the clubs have already closed but the cafes haven't opened yet.
Naples' sound flirts with dub, ambient and leftfield house, so there is some precedent in his catalogue for the looser, live-feeling Chameleon. Composed on synthesizer, guitar, bass, drums and a handful of other analog instruments, it's akin to 2018's spacey Take Me With You. However, if that effort brought to mind the work of '70s German experimentalists like Cluster and La Düsseldorf, Chameleon is more reminiscent of The KLF's verdant, naturalistic Chill Out. On "You Got What It Takes," slippery guitar soloing rests over celestial synths before a distorted beat kicks in. With its ominous low-end and searing pads, "Sizzlin" is woozy and cinematic. Clocking in at just over one minute, "Casia" melds cascading guitar and hissing white noise, acting as an alluring intermission within a tracklist whose mood is difficult to place. Sometimes the record is sunny; at others, brooding and nocturnal.
Naples has a real knack for crafting lush, sprawling soundscapes, and Chameleon finds his production as strong as ever. Although its pensive arrangements are an unexpected pivot, the core elements of his singular style are there. On the title track, murky electronics coast atop coy percussion. Although it's hardly techno, "Pera"'s thick bassline brings to mind some of the more lowkey cuts from 2019's propulsive Fog FM LP. The airier segments of "Full O' Stars" and "I Don't Know If That's Just Dreaming" recall downtempo releases on Naples' label Incienso, like DJ Python's Mas Amable or downstairs J's basement, etc.... My favorite moment comes on "Massiv Mello," whose shuffling percussion, jazzy guitar and electric piano chords sound like a warped version of some long-lost Sade instrumental.
It's hard to ascertain whether Chameleon is just a one-off detour—a pandemic record—or if it marks the beginning of a less mechanical era for Naples. Regardless, it doesn't feel out of place when held up alongside his previous records. For someone who once said that the only studio upgrade he wanted was a mousepad, working with a rock band's-worth of instruments isn't as strange a move as one might think. The decision to drop a jammy psychedelic record might seem surprising, but with Chameleon, Naples' proves his musical vision is strong enough to carry across seemingly disparate styles.
Tracklist01. Primo
02. Devotion (SSL Mix)
03. Chameleon
04. Pera
05. Bug
06. Casia
07. Hydra
08. Full O' Stars
09. Sizzlin
10. Massiv Mello
11. You Got What It Takes
12. I Don't Know If That's Just Dreaming