Leaping Lindner wrote:zipzap wrote:You were allowed to vote for several I think.
I voted for Pixies 'Doolittle', REM 'Green' and my all time favourite The Chills 'Submarine Bells'. Can't remember whether I voted for The Smiths 'The Queen is Dead' but that would be in my top 5 also. Probably chuck in 'Revolver' to round out the five.
"Submarine Bells" is one out of left field. Did you see them when they played at the Tivoli in 92?
Sure did. Hung out with them after the show, got some signed posters and stuff. Martin Phillips seemed genuinely touched we were into his music. I still check out his website from time to time - they are on the road again, though another completely different band of course. Saw them with H&C too.
If you haven't heard Submarine Bells I can't recommend it highly enough. Some of the finest pop songwriting I have ever heard, lyrics that make you laugh or cut through you in the space of a song. The whole album has this weird kind of nautical theme that holds it together - to me it is kind of like a 90s 'Pet Sounds'. Breathtakingly brilliant
Here's a pretty accurate review from Amazon for those that are curious:
"The first track of "Submarine Bells" is definitely well named, and not just for the first song either -- the whole album is made of "heavenly pop hits." This New Zealand band produced some pretty darn charming pop-rock that melds near-orchestral music with catchy pop melodies and melancholy writing.
A majestive sweep of organ-like keyboard opens "Heavenly Pop Hit" and the harder, contemplative "Tied Up In Chain." Dali-esque love songs ("Oncoming Day") blossom into the strange and surreal ("I Soar") the slowly catchy ("Dead Web" and "Don't Be -- Memory") the searing whirlwind rock ("Familiarity Breeds Contempt") and ends by coming full circle to where it started -- catchy, chiming pop (the charming "Effloresce And Deliquesce" and delicate sea ode "Submarine Bells").
The Chills don't possess the musical brilliance of true geniuses, but their catchy, enticing alternative-pop songs are unforgettable. They swirl, they snap, they shimmer, they sparkle with irresistable melodies. The first two songs suck you in with their hooks and chiming keyboard pop, before shifting into the darker, stranger realms of songs like the eerie "I Soar" and the louder, rockier "Oncoming Day." By that time, you're already caught up in the music and won't want to turn it off.
Martin Phillips, without being whiny, uses these simple-seeming songs to bemoan death, love, and any combination of the above. (The love of death? The death of love? Both work...) Despite the cheery tone of the music, the songs themselves are hauntingly written: "I have to talk to someone/describe it all to someone/emotions are imploding/but there's nothing to say... they've all gone away..."
New Zealand has proved in the past few years that it can serve up top-notch stuff that the public devours with a passion. But the Chills' "Submarine Bells" shows that this is hardly a new development. Beautiful, haunting and quite enjoyable."