Submarine Bells (CD)


The Chills

CD
Currently Unavailable
SHIPS FREE in U.S.

Amoeba Review

Michael Keefe 06/01/2010

Of the bountiful number of bands that sprang up during New Zealand's Kiwi pop bonanza during the 1980s, Dunedin's The Chills are among the best and the most enduringly popular. Led by singer-songwriter Martin Phillipps, the group reached their artistic and popular zenith with Submarine Bells. Released in their homeland on the legendary Flying Nun Records, it was among a clutch of New Zealand rock records issued in the US by major labels in the early 1990s, offering many music fans in that faraway hemisphere their first glimpse of a very rich scene. Submarine Bells couldn't make for a better introduction, beginning with one of the genre's greatest singles, the perfectly titled "Heavenly Pop Hit," with its twinkling, propulsive organ and Phillipps's warmly weaved rhymes about being "bloated up happy." The rest of the album is generally moodier, but remains infectious throughout. Even songs with titles like "Tied Up in Chain" and "Familiarity Breeds Contempt" will leave listeners smiling. Irresistible pop hooks and bright-yet-wet sounds are perfectly captured by the album's cover of a sunlit jellyfish suspending in the bubbling, aquamarine ocean. Though more elegant and slickly produced than so much of the scrappy DIY indie rock that Kiwi pop is known for, the NZ #1 Submarine Bells remains one of the style's finest exemplars and a gorgeously catchy album in its own right.



Track Listing



Disc 1 Titles
Artist
Length
1.
Heavenly Pop Hit
The Chills 03:28
2.
Tied Up in Chain
The Chills 03:16
3.
The Oncoming Day
The Chills 03:06
4.
Part Past Part Fiction
The Chills 02:56
5.
Singing in My Sleep
The Chills 02:40
6.
I Soar
The Chills 03:05
7.
Dead Web
The Chills 02:16
8.
Familiarity Breeds Contempt
The Chills 03:21
9.
Don't Be - Memory
The Chills 04:46
10.
Effloresce and Deliquesce
The Chills 02:45
11.
Sweet Times
The Chills 00:42
12.
Submarine Bells
The Chills 03:41

CD
Currently Unavailable
SHIPS FREE in U.S.
Shop Amoeba Merch Paypal Music & Movies Ship Free at Amoeba From Our Friends at Guayki We Buy Large Collections
x Sign-up for emails, sales alerts & more:


loading...

Register


New customers, create your Amoeba.com account here. Its quick and easy!


Register

Don't want to register? Feel free to make a purchase as a guest!

Checkout as Guest

Currently, we do not allow digital purchases without registration

Close

Register

Become a member of Amoeba.com. It's easy and quick!

All fields required.

An error has occured - see below:

Minimum: 8 characters, 1 uppercase, 1 special character

Already have an account? Log in.

Close

Forgot Password






To reset your password, enter your registration e-mail address.




Close

Forgot Username





Enter your registration e-mail address and we'll send you your username.




Close

Amoeba Newsletter Sign Up

Submit
Close