Chameleon Circuit - Blink
Chameleon Circuit (2009) on Itunes | MySpace



According to Wikipedia, Charlie McDonnell is “the most subscribed YouTuber in the United Kingdom as of August 2010”. As part of the Doctor Who inspired band, Chameleon Circuit, Charlie wrote this song in response to the Steven Moffatt episode by the same name.

For those unfamiliar with Doctor Who, it is essentially a science fiction show (first aired in 1963!) about a man (or not quite a man but looking like a man) who travels through time and space. As a huge fan of the show, I was pleasantly surprised to find this genre (time lord rock, otherwise known as “trock”, as coined by Chameleon Circuit member, Alex Day) dedicated to all things Doctor Who.

Their self-titled album stays true to their rock genre. You don’t need to be a Doctor Who fan to enjoy this album (but you’ll definitely enjoy the references more if you do know about the show!). I do wish more of their songs followed the same style as Charlie’s treatment of Blink - it had the right mix of narrative and references (Sally Sparrow, 1969 reference, etc.), melody (guitar didn’t overpower vocals) and pacing (the flow is great, the placement of stops is just right and the rhythm effortlessly changes from one section to another).

Overall, the album is decent. It has some good songs like “Exterminate, Regenerate”, “K9’s Lament” and the previously mentioned “Blink”. However, there are some uneven songs that were repetitive in their melodies and pacing. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the album. It’s a hoot of fun and very nerdtastic! Who doesn’t want to hear about K9 or the Daleks?