The Chills - Snow Bound

The Guardian 80

Fire

After years lost to addiction and ill-health, the revival in Martin Phillipps’ musical fortunes over the past decade or so continues with what is, staggeringly, only the sixth studio album in the 35-year, stop-start career of the Chills, the beloved New Zealand indie band who were the spearhead of the Flying Nun label in the 80s. What’s more, this is the first time – following 2015’s Silver Bullets – there have been two albums with the same band lineup. None of his problems has robbed Phillipps of his facility, and 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).

Related: The Chills: the band who fell to earth

Pitchfork 75

An architect of New Zealand’s fabled Dunedin sound returns with another dose of heavenly pop. This time, he may even be happy.