The Forbidden Planet Survives!--Somewhere Beautiful--The Chills

I'm So Bloated up Happy.....

As I am an unabashed fan of Martin Phillips and The Chills, in my estimation the ultimate New Zealand band, I am very pleased to mention that the long drought is over. Somewhere Beautiful was recently released on Fire Records.

No, its not an album of new material. It is a live album, recorded in 2011 New Year's Eve at a private party. Nonetheless, my instincts told me that anything new by The Chills is a wonderful thing. And I'm enjoying the live disc immensely. You might find some of the vocals a little shouty, but overall Phillips and his bandmates are in great form throughout.

The album has 20 tracks from throughout The Chill's discography (even from his solo album Sketchbook), so it is a nice retrospective of the band. It also includes Canterbury Go!, which must be a recent song. Which seemingly is a portent of things to come.


Because a great sounding new Chills song, Molten Gold, has recently appeared on the Internet, and word is that a new studio album is in the works. But for now, Somewhere Beautiful is a suitable vehicle to tide us over until the rumors are converted to reality. I've always had the utmost regard for his songwriting abilities, but listening to the live album reminded me that the songs are also chock full of inventive creative guitar and keyboard passages.




But if you are unfamiliar with this band, my advice is to buy everything you can get your hands on. I'm still hoping that a remastered version of Brave Words is on the horizon. Though I've always been most partial to Submarine Bells, Brave Words is also a really great album. With a strange hummy mix sound. Some people like this actually, but I know that Martin does not. On the Flying Nun Chills retrospective Heavenly Pop Hits, there are modified versions of a few Brave Words songs. Upon reflection, should a cleaned up version of this album come about, it might very well be in consideration as the finest rock album ever released from New Zealand. I know it's all subjective--and if you have seen this blog before, you know that I have a lot of favorites from Aotearoa.



Just add the Kaleidescope World early singles compilation to the mix, and you have three excellent, excellent albums. Let's hope that Somewhere Beautiful is just the beginning of the resurrection of a rare talent.

Please note: none of the videos I've posted are represented on Somewhere Beautiful.