The weekend wrapped up with a fun swirl of genres as darkwave Twin Tribes and partners, the post-punk Chameleons, ended their coheadlining Darker Skies tour at the Fillmore Silver Spring on Sunday night.
Kicking off the night was a 30-minute set by California’s Vandal Moon. Keeping with the dark theme of the tour, Vandal Moon warmed up the Fillmore crowd with its take on ’80s-inspired post-punk and darkwave sounds. The duo (Blake Voss and Jeremy Einsiedler) describe themselves as having the sound of “synthesizers, guitars, drum machines, vodka, and psychedelics.” Dark, but also very cool, the men commanded the fans on the floor with a set plucked from their 2020 album Black Kiss and 2023 EP “Satellite.”
Co-headliner Chameleons had the second slot on the bill Sunday night. For the uninitiated, Chameleons (or The Chameleons UK as sometimes referred to in North America) are an English band formed in 1981. In recent years the band has seen its audience grow and their 2024 EP “Where Are You?” has garnered some of the best reviews of the band’s 40-something year career. Chameleons are also gearing up for the release of Arctic Moon later in 2025, which will be their first studio full-length since 2001’s Why Call It Anything.
The current lineup is original members Vox (fka Mark Burgess) and Reg Smithies, along with Stephen Rice, Danny Ashberry, and Todd Demma. Together, the men are credited with reinvigorating the band and bringing them renewed relevance. After seeing the band absolutely tear up the Fillmore’s stage Sunday night, it’s easy to see why. It was a full hour of straight ahead, guitar driven English rock. Everyone’s heads were bobbing and even the goth kids in the audience who were clearly there to see Twin Tribes danced.
The setlist was weighted heavily in favor of their ’80s breakout album Script of the Bridge as well as a few from the mid ’80s LP Strange Times. “The Fan & the Bellows” dates from 1981 and has more recently made an appearance on a 2024 EP (“Tomorrow Remember Yesterday”) of early Chameleons tunes rerecorded by the current lineup. “Where Are You?” is from another 2024 EP of brand-new material. The Vinyl District sat down with Vox for the April 4 episode of TVD Radar: The Podcast, so have a listen!
The crowd did noticeably thin a bit after the Chameleons left the stage—gone were many of the older fans in attendance. After the stage was set with atmospheric lighting, Twin Tribes took the stage at 10:30PM.
Twin Tribes formed in 2017 in Brownsville, Texas, and are Luis Navarro and Joel Niño, Jr. Inspired by 1980s bands like The Cure and Depeche Mode, the duo is described as darkwave, blending post-punk, goth, and synth-driven sounds. Since 2017, Twin Tribes have released three LPs and an album of remixes. Their latest is 2024’s Pendulum. In true goth form, their songs address the occult and the undead, carried on synth-driven sounds and Navarro’s ethereal and dark vocals.
On a very dimly lit stage Sunday night, Navarro and Niño hypnotized the Fillmore audience with a 15-song set drawn mainly from Pendulum and 2019’s Ceremony. The goth kids were there for it Sunday night at the Fillmore, dancing and swaying to the dark, moody music. It underscored the force Twin Tribes have become in the darkwave world and demonstrates that there is still a demand for ’80s dark, synth-influenced music in 2025.
The Silver Spring date was the last of the coheadlining Darker Skies tour. Twin Tribes are continuing to tour the US through June. Chameleons engage in a quick tour of Spain and Portugal in June then come back in the US to tour with The Psychedelic Furs.
THE CHAMELEONS
VANDAL MOON
