They try to change their ways and they want to come back and be part of the world again. So it's kind of a fictional future where America wakes up and realises they've distanced themselves from the rest of the world. But I didn't want to write a rant against them. This is really about the imperialist and war like nature of America's policies. Wednesday 13 January - Sydney Festival Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent Friday 15 January - Max Watts House of Music, Melbourne 'America Says Hello' (Silver Bullets, 2015) The Chills play the following dates early in 2016: 'I really wanted to make sure that people didn't regard The Chills as something that happened in the '80s and '90s and bring it up to the present.'īut there's no denying the quality of The Chills entire catalogue, so I asked Phillipps to talk us through six songs from different parts of the band's career. 'It makes it very important that I don't put out any rubbish and I really think things through because I have no idea how long I am going to be around,' he said on The Beat Eclectic. In many ways, Silver Bullets is a triumph over adversity for Martin Phillipps who has had a long battle with ill health.īut that has only made him even more determined to create a meaningful body of work.

Championed by indie record label Flying Nun, the band soon found a cult audience around the world and critical acclaim from the likes of John Peel for their stellar records in the '80s and '90s.īut there's been a big gap between albums. Singer-songwriter Martin Phillipps formed The Chills in Dunedin in the early '80s. Like that warm feeling that comes on when you run into a friend you haven't seen in years.

Much loved NZ guitar band The Chills are back with Silver Bullets, their first album in nearly two decades. From 'Pink Frost' to 'America Says Hello', the Chills' leader talks about some of the band's most cherished songs.Ĭhiming guitars, layers of reverb, heart stopping droplets of bittersweet melody.

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