The Chills to Reissue 'Submarine Bells' & 'Soft Bomb'
Music News - The Chills to Reissue 'Submarine Bells' & 'Soft Bomb'
04 December 2020 - 0 Comments
Submarine Bells and Soft Bomb, the iconic early albums from TheChills’ catalogue have been remastered for a super sweet moment of ear candy, perfect for rediscovery — out
on coloured vinyl 15th of January, 2021 via FlyingNunRecords.
Back in the Flying Nun vinyl catalogue for the first time in almost three decades, you can now get your hands on these much sought after
reissues; with Submarine Bells available on translucent green vinyl, and Soft Bomb available in both orange or blue vinyl — all pressed in New Zealand, thanks to HolidayRecords.
Submarine Bells is TheChills’ much-praised second album from 1990. Built around MartinPhillipps’ off-kilter vocal; all accent, all attitude, it reels around
folk-like couplets with brusque punk swagger fed through psychedelic hues; so timeless it still simmers beautifully. It includes the effervescent, euphoric opener Heavenly Pop Hit.
Originally released in 1992, TheChills’ third album SoftBomb features contributions from giants of contemporary American music like VanDykeParks and ex dB’s PeterHolsapple as collaborators. A roller coaster 17-song, 51 minute trip, SoftBomb is a conceptual classic that embraces styles and genres.
Fronted by the rare talent of MartinPhillipps, TheChills were originally formed in 1980 and had a revolving cast of band members, with Phillipps remaining the only constant. His
knack for writing fantastic pop songs led to chart hits back home and a cult following around the world. With their early releases via FlyingNunRecords, The Chills produced a number of critically acclaimed
recordings such as the single Pink Frost (their first hit) from the compilation album Kaleidoscope World and Wet Blanket from the LP Brave Words.
At the height of the band’s success,
JohnPeel invited them in for a number of BBC sessions (1985/1987/1988) which were released for the first time in 2014. They released the album Submarine Bells in 1990, where their single, Heavenly Pop Hit garnered much international praise and press. The band returned to NZ as national heroes and proceeded to release several more albums including SoftBombandSunburnt.
With a few years
hiatus due to health problems, Martin picked up The Chills again in ’99 and throughout the 00’s playing shows around the world and reaching a wider audience and gaining a cult following. The band have many faithful friends around the world and a new
generation (PeterBjorn and John, Songs, The Go Find, Panda Bear, TheShins et al) are now covering or attempting to emulate The Chills unique sound.
Martin has a single-minded determination to take quality, original NZ-sounding, melodic rock music global. His requirement of band members has been to meet a standard of musicianship, which is necessary to deliver The Chills songs with essential
consistent energy. This determination stems from the punk rock ethics of Martin’s musical awakening and from the subsequent proximity to people like ChrisKnox who drove home how crucial it was to deliver music always with
intensity and conviction. This live energy is the central reason why The Chills are remembered fondly in all of the thirty-nine countries that they have thus far visited. It’s the combination of this AND the consistent quality of their songs which
have established The Chills as one of the most well-known New Zealand groups to date.
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