Spring Board: The Early Unrecorded Songs is a collection of early material from The Chills, drawn from the band’s formative first seven years before their debut album. Revisiting these songs, the band reworked and recorded them as both a tribute to their past and a bridge to their future.
The Chills are an indie rock band formed in Dunedin in 1980 with Martin Phillipps as the founder and mainstay of the act. The Chills were appreciated throughout the world as one of the earliest exponents of the Dunedin sound influential on many international acts including REM.
The songs on this album are a collection of pieces that were written or initiated during the 1980’s during the 7 years before the Chills recorded their debut album. The songs were then revised and recorded for release, with the process being interrupted by Martin Phillipps untimely death in June 2024. The songs were finished by the rest of the band prior to the eventual release on 28 February 2025.
The process of the revision of the early material became necessary for Phillipps as he was unable to connect with some of the lyrical and musical sensibilities from his youth. There was a distinct difference in the band personnel as well, with Phillips able to be more adventurous with the arrangements so as to take advantage of the talents that he had available. It feels that throughout the album every member of the band’s talents is featured; the slinky and funky musicality of bass player Callum Hampton, the driving precision of Todd Knudson on drums and the wonderous additional melodies and textures of Oli Wilson on keyboards and Erica Scully on violin.
The album also features recorded contributions from a brilliant guestlist of artists including Julia Deans from Fur Patrol, Neil Finn, Elroy Finn, Hollie Fullbrook of Tiny Ruins, Clementine Valentine from Purple Pilgrims, Tami Nielson, Dianne Swann from When Cat’s Away, Troy Kingi and Shona Laing. The recordings and development of the album were marred by Phillipps being admitted into hospital at least four times due to chronic health conditions.
During the final months of his life, Phillipps auctioned off a significant portion of his extensive music memorabilia collection, including posters and artist-specific works. This auction was part of his effort to organise his affairs and reduce the burden on his family after his passing. Describing Spring Board as a collection of early songs suggests that he was taking a similar approach to his creative output—tying up loose ends and completing unfinished ideas from his past.
That being said, this album doesn’t sound like an unfinished retrospective or a collection of half ideas. There is a freshness to this work and a connectedness to the present that I was not expecting, particularly given the description and the title. The songs have a connection to now and a brightness that is more reflective of his later-life resurgence than a comparison to the Chills early work. This is an excellent collection full of insight into The Chills influence on contemporary popular music while still being fresh, new and positive.
My personal favourite track is the closer ‘I Don’t Want To Live Forever’. It features a relentless positivity and pop sensibility that frames a song that is especially poignant considering Phillipps untimely death. The refrain “I want to die alive” speaks to a person that has had a life marred by chronic illness and wants to have a level of control over life as it marches on. I love this collection; it’s at once retrospective and current. It gives new listeners an appreciation of the brilliance of Phillipps work and is a great way to appreciate his musical legacy. Highly recommended!
Spring Board: The Early Unrecorded Songs is a collection of early material from The Chills, drawn from the band’s formative first seven years before their debut album. Revisiting these songs, the band reworked and recorded them as both a tribute to their past and a bridge to their future.
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Review by Mansell Laidler
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