Chameleon Technology_ is the solo project of Costa Mesa, California’s Max Histrionic, a musician for a number of other local punk bands. A follow-up to 2015’s self-titled Chameleon Technology, but more separate in concept and creation, their newest EP, Blank Canvas, is the maturation of Histrionic’s idea of a solo project evolving into a multi-media live show. For the work of one single artist, the playing is tight and structured, the production sounds lush and beefy (or as lush as a punk album can be), and the chemistry remarkably plays like that of a full-sized band.
The EP passes by so quickly that it can take repeated listens to understand the more complex progressions and lyrical structures embedded within. It is only until the fourth track, “Self Repair” (an artful blend of cowpunk and a touch of jazz), that the more experimental tendencies readily come forth. The opening songs, however, add just as much to the EP, and “No Safe Word” along with “Serin’s Vending” are nothing short of blisteringly fantastic punk. The final song, “Blank Canvas,” is the most theatrical of the entire outing and even verges on becoming it’s own little mini punk opera.
Although it can be seen as a soundtrack to Chameleon Technology’s live show, Blank Canvas proves to be just as worthy to listeners for its own merits alone.
