The Chills - "Molten Gold"

First we had a unexpected new single and album from David Bowie and then more recently a new single from The Pixies and now out of nowhere comes a new single from The Chills. I don't know what the next surprise will be (a double album from The Smiths might be asking too much) but I'm enjoying these comebacks. For Chills fans - this one is Gold.

The Chills — "Doledrums"

The latest worldwide unemployment figures make depressing reading. I think the word of the year for 2012 will be "Austerity"... we hear it many times every day, whether it is at local government, national or international level, it seems nowhere is exempt. So instead of trying to be positive about the situation... how about a song about being unemployed.

The Chills - "Rolling Moon"

The first single from The Chills was "Rolling Moon" and it is up there with their best. Possibly due to their lack of studio experience, which gave it that rawness. I know as they matured and Martin Phillips' songwriting became more sophisticated the recording process improved as well. But this was when the Flying Nun bands spent a day in the studio and two months producing their own cover art. Although I wasn't in Dunedin, I was so lucky to experience the peak of the 'Dunedin Sound' or 'Flying Nun scene' during that period in the 80's. Most of the bands toured nationally and played at Auckland's Windsor Castle, The Gluepot and a plenty of other venues that are long forgotten.

The Chills - "Bee Bah Bee Bah Bee Boe"

Dunedin band The Chills thought they had lost the recordings that made up this EP. So once found, 'The Lost EP' was finally released. It was 1985 and they had already made a name for themselves with one side of the 'Dunedin Double EP', which they shared with three other Dunedin bands, and a couple of singles "Rolling Moon" and "Pink Frost". The six tracks from 'The Lost EP' were later released on the album 'Kaleidoscope World'. The leading song from the EP was "This is the Way" but the other highlight is the centre piece "Bee Bah Bee Bah Bee Boe" which could be thought of as a throwaway, going by the title.... but it's a 'found again' gem.

The Chills - "I Love My Leather Jacket"

Dunedin band 'The Chills' started in 1980 and still perform on the odd occasion now. They were on a creative high between 1982 and 1992 with early singles like "Rolling Moon" and "Pink Frost", followed by a string of classic EPs and LPs. They were a big part of what became known as 'The Dunedin Sound' from the 'Flying Nun' stable. The key member of 'The Chills' is the singer songwriter Martin Phillipps and over the years there have been so many line-up changes, it would be easy to think that every Dunedin musician has played with Phillipps in 'The Chills'. However, one such member was drummer Martyn Bull and the circumstances were much more unfortunate, with his death from leukaemia. Martin Phillipps was devastated and he even briefly changed the band name. Phillipps was given Martyn Bull's leather jacket and he wrote and dedicated this song "I Love My Leather Jacket" to his friend.