Music Review // Malia Rogers "Chameleon"

 

Malia Rogers brings an acoustic force to "Chameleon" that happens with only the best of the singer-song writers crowd.  This song reminds me a bit of Abigail Lapell, but it just has that vocal style that only Malia Rogers can bring to it.  "Chameleon" comes out at a steady pace, bringing a sense of seriousness and it really can draw in the listener in that way, kind of forcing them to keep their attention to hear what is being said.

For all of the songs I've heard in my life, I'm always pleasantly surprised when I hear one about a subject that I feel needs to be addressed but hasn't been done enough.  With the line: "Tell me who I should become" this song sets the tone for everyone who has never had their own personality but rather latched onto others.  This could be done in the way of a relationship (which happens most often) but it also could just be with a group of people, where you want to fit in.

But I feel as you get more into the lyrics and really think about them, you'll find meaning in the lines: "I will paint myself to match you / I have no colors of my own / And if I ever had them / They bled away a long time ago".   This is interesting to me because often times as we get older, if we're married with children, who we are seems to fade away as we become a spouse, parent, etc.  We lose that singular identity and become part of a greater one, which sometimes can be good but also people do still struggle with this.

This is the complexity of "Chameleon".  On one hand, it can be a song simply about someone changing who they are to match who someone else is in order to gain their approval.  You know, I don't really like tennis but Johnny does and I like Johnny so I watch tennis now.  But it can also just be about losing yourself in a much larger way, which can be wonderful but soul crushing at the same time.   Either way, you should be listening to this song to try and find that true self which lives inside you.