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. Phillipps passed away in July 2024, age 61.