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Aug 16, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Erica Hart

Over the past few years, Nashville-based quartet Blonde Bones have forged a sunny take on indie rock and psych pop, delivered via tongue-in-cheek lyrics and charming earworm melodies. The band began at the University of Tennessee as the project of Christian Barnett and Joe Reb, before rounding out their lineup with the addition of Daniel Ryan and Jacob Carey.

In early 2020, the band debuted with their first LP, Hiding Out, and they have spent the intervening pandemic years writing and recording their new EP, Swimming Pool, their first release since signing with Midwest indie label The Record Machine. The band announced the EP earlier this year with their lead single, “New Animals,” and today they’re back with another new single, “Slow Chameleon,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Slow Chameleon” is a sunny and effortlessly winding tune, carried by a hypnotic tangle of guitar melodies. As the band describes, the track began as a tribute to ‘60s R&B, an influence you can still hear in the gentle sway of the rhythm section. However, as the track winds on it also begins to recall the psych pop haze of bands like Dr. Dog, or the breezy indie melodicism of the Shins, showing a side of Blonde Bones that is equal parts offbeat and alluring.

Frontman Christian Barnett says of the track, “The song started with trying my own take at a 60’s R&B tune — like something you’d hear on a Temptations record. I think the spirit is still there, but as we worked through the arrangements I found myself leaning away from a love song and more towards a surreal journey through the night. I liked the idea of a ‘slow chameleon’ not quite blending into a place or moment until it’s too late.”

Check out the song early below. The band’s full EP is out later this year, releasing via The Record Machine.