Martin Phillipps has been banging about with some semblance of the Chills for more than 30 years now; the latest iteration has recently produced two excellent albums, 2013’s live Somewhere Beautiful and last year’s Silver Bullets, their first studio LP in 19 years. At the same time, the Dunedin, New Zealand, native has enthusiastically looked back with stellar archive and compilation releases, including 2000’s rarity-stocked Secret Box and 1995’s comprehensive Heavenly Pop Hits. The latest look in the Chills’ rearview is the second reissue of Kaleidoscope World, the band’s 1986 debut EP, a collection of early singles; it was expanded to 18 tracks in 1989, adding the Lost EP and other treats.
This new version attaches another six songs but tells the same essential story: Phillipps is a fragile pop genius with the rare ability to simultaneously sound jangly, psychedelic, somber, whimsical, profound and ominous, like N.Z.’s version of Brians Wilson and Eno. This beefed-up take on Kaleidoscope World might not excite diehard Chills followers—they’ve got most if not all of this already—but it’s perfect for anyone who’s chanced upon them recently and wants to explore their potent origin mythology.
—Brian Baker
