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“The Chills’ Martin Phillipps leaves a legacy of melancholy brilliance” The Guardian reported following his untimely death in August 2024. At the heart of the Dunedin and New Zealand music scenes since 1981, he and his constantly reinvigorated band, had been part of the Fire family since signing with the label in 2013, sparking a resurgence in their cult status, magnified by the Fire film ‘The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps’ from 2019.
Their catalogue of releases remains a vital legacy of the global independent scene, from their debut ‘Brave Words’ (1987), produced by Mayo Thompson (Pere Ubu / Red Krayola) and featuring standout tracks ‘Wet Blanket’, ‘Night Of Chills Blue’, through to their short-lived major label tenure with ‘Submarine Bells’ (1990) with its folk-like rounds, brusque punk swagger, psychedelic hues and Phillipps’ off-kilter vocal; all accent, all attitude, soft, then hard.
“Music so wonderful it’s no wonder no radio station dared touch it: it would have made nearly everything else sound bad by comparison.” Pitchfork
Martin: “By then the band had toured extensively through New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Europe and North America so we were already road-hardened and familiar, to some extent, with the world stage. But, of course, there was much to learn about the complexities and politics of the major label approach.”
1992’s ‘Soft Bomb’, a roller coaster 17-song, 51-minute trip, a conceptual classic that embraces styles and genres with contributions from giants of contemporary American music like Van Dyke Parks and ex dB’s Peter Holsapple arrived as both label (Slash via Warner Bros) and band evaporated with Phillipps stuck in the States.
Martin: “There was already tension within the group. The situation just became more miserable until I decided that, 13 years of this, I had had enough.”
Then nothing happened until The Chills played a private party on New Year’s Eve 2011, in Central Otago, New Zealand. It was recorded and artist Shane Cotton painted the diptych ‘Rolling Moon’ as a response to the live performance. This was the re-awakening; it became ‘Somewhere Beautiful’, the band’s first Fire relesase (2013).
‘The BBC Sessions’ followed a year later, capturing three vintage Peel Sessions, from December 1985 to December 1988; it’s an album where you can hear the sound of a band at the very height of their power, with the world at their feet, and a confident songwriter at the helm.
‘Silver Bullets’ released in 2015 was The Chills’ first full length album in nearly two decades. Bursting with chiming pop anthems, melodic rock and Phillipps’ playful punk-rock tendencies, it was a much-heralded and highly-rated return.
“Driving pop fuelled by simple, incessant guitar lines, combined with Phillipps’s facility for a hook-laden melody.” The Wire
‘Snow Bound’ (2018) was all about “consolidation, re-grouping, acceptance and mortality,” Phillipps later confessed, “Hopefully a kind of Carole King ‘Tapestry’ for the ageing.”
“’Snow Bound’ drips with his trademarks: the melancholy lyrics paired with joyous melodies; the surging, oddly maritime cast of the music; the interaction of guitar and organ; the open-heartedness of it all (even at his most cynical, the tone of Phillipps’ voice and the major-chord bounce of the music makes him sound in love with the world).” The Guardian
2021’s ‘Scatterbrain’ displayed an even more mature and painfully honest reflection on life, destiny and the fate of our times delivered in beautiful melodies with Phillipps’ trademarked incisive turn of phrase.
“Their songs call like rare, exotic wines, intoxicating and addictive and beautifully melancholic, while simultaneously inspiringly uplifting.” Repeat Fanzine
Martin Phillips was discussing the sleeve notes and design of what will be his final recordings when he passed. His enthusiasm and breadth of ideas as sharp and incisive as they were back in the early 80s.
“A positive and shockingly optimistic energy.” Pop Matters
