Latest Release
- Kaleidoscope World · 1986
- Submarine Bells · 1990
- Kaleidoscope World · 1986
- Kaleidoscope World · 1986
- Submarine Bells · 1990
- Submarine Bells · 1990
- Kaleidoscope World · 1986
- The BBC Sessions · 2014
- Kaleidoscope World · 1986
- Submarine Bells · 1990
Essential Albums
- Submarine Bells went to No. 1 in The Chills' homeland of New Zealand and received a fair amount of promotion and radio play in the U.S., especially on college radio. The appropriately titled “Heavenly Pop Hit” should have been an even bigger calling card for the band, but this entire album’s consistency makes it difficult to single out a particular moment. For a group that generally resisted the album format in favor of singles, The Chills achieved a masterful flow throughout Submarine Bells, with the help of producer Gary Smith. Much of the credit is due to Martin Phillipps’ excellent songwriting and the backing band’s unswerving devotion to serving the songs. Drummer James Stephenson and bassist Justin Harwood bring songs like “The Oncoming Day” and “Familiarity Breeds Contempt” a nasty propulsion, while keyboardist Andrew Todd colors songs such as “Effloresce and Deliquesce” and “Don’t Be—Memory” with a beauty that’s matched by the indelible melodies.
Albums
- 2021
- 2018
Compilations
About The Chills
Amongst the earliest proponents of New Zealand’s jangle-driven “Dunedin Sound,” The Chills stood apart from peers like Tall Dwarfs and The Clean thanks to pristine melodies, ornate arrangements, and dramatically cresting choruses. Formed in Dunedin’s fertile college scene in 1980, the band became the artistic vehicle for frontman Martin Phillipps, the lone enduring member across many lineup changes. The Chills offset their chiming guitar-pop with nuanced lyrics and sudden mood swings, as heard on their defining 1986 single “Pink Frost” and 1990’s self-manifesting “Heavenly Pop Hit,” which reached No. 2 on the local charts. Phillipps’ songwriting gifts became steadily more apparent—influencing landmark US indie outfits like Superchunk and Yo La Tengo—but the band splintered in the mid-1990s and Phillipps withdrew from music to deal with severe health issues. He convened a new incarnation of The Chills in the 2010s, yielding a well-received run of albums and reinvigorated world touring.
- ORIGIN
- Dunedin, New Zealand
- FORMED
- 1980
- GENRE
- Alternative