Mistletone

Mistletone is mighty chuffed to present the return of legendary New Zealand band The Chills. Following on from The BBC Sessions  on Fire Records, The Chills have just released their first full length album in nearly two decades, Silver Bullets.

This brilliant new Chills album hails the return of one of New Zealand’s most respected exports; bursting with chiming Dunedin-pop anthems, melodic rock and Martin Phillipps ’ playful punk-rock tendencies, the thrilling new album brings them to the next chapter. Recorded at Albany Street Studios in Dunedin (NZ) the album instantly reaffirms Phillipps’ aptitude for writing intelligent and timeless pop songs delivered with conviction.

Whether tackling issues on the economy, fighting with ‘Silver Bullets’ or the observant nature of Southern Lights on ‘Aurora Corona’, The Chills complex pop resonates in a cacophony of dark-edged songs. Their underlying melancholy remains and is offset by their signature catchy melodies bringing a haunting depth to their idiosyncratic sound. Silver Bullets also features a new re-recording of ‘Molten Gold’.

Formed in 1980, NZ’s indie luminaries The Chills’ revolving line-up has had Martin Phillipps at its core for over 30 years. Joining influential labels Creation  and Homestead , they then moved to Warner imprint Slash and onto the world of majors. At the height of their success, John Peel invited them in for a number of BBC sessions which were released for the first time late last year.

Significant chart success at home and a following worldwide would see 1990’s Submarine Bells  (Slash Records) gain critical acclaim. When Soft Bomb  dropped in 1992, as they toured the US, things imploded resulting in the group disbanding and it wasn’t until 1996 that their next album Sunburnt appeared with a new line up on the Flying Nun label.

Still burning brightly, and with an extraordinary career, The Chills have gone through reformations with breaks on and off. In the late 90s and early 00s they returned to the live scene reaching wider audiences. With eight brand new tunes, they released mini-albumStand By in 2004. In 2013 The Chills joined Fire  and Far South with a live LP Somewhere Beautiful, unearthing rare recordings from a private NYE party. Subsequent EPs Molten Gold and Stand By (Tour 2014)  and the acclaimed The BBC Sessions LP then followed.

The highly anticipated Silver Bullets is out now on Fire Records with local release by Rocket Distribution.

The Chills are: Martin Phillipps (Guitar/Vox), James Dickson  (Bass/Backing Vocals), Todd Knudson  (Drums/Backing Vocals), Erica Stichbury (Violin/Backing Vocals) and Oli Wilson  (Keyboards/Backing Vocals).