SXSW Music Review: The Chills

Led by singer-songwriter Martin Phillipps, the Chills are a legend in New Zealand pop, with a near-40-year catalog of jangly, melodic gems prized by true believers like slivers of the True Cross.

When Phillipps resurrected the band in 2015 after a decade’s absence, a generation of rock nerds shouted “Hallelujah” ’round the world. Armed with the acclaimed Snow Bound, the group’s second album since its revival, the Chills’ first Texas stand in decades aligned with SXSW.

Given all that, the quintet’s Barracuda show wasn’t nearly as jam-packed as one might expect. To be fair, it was their second show of the day, and they have a good half-dozen gigs still to come before they leave town. Anyone bothering to show up Tuesday night got a good, solid Chills show.

Phillipps has never been flashy, and his current crew follows suit. This band counts on the quality of its songs, rather than their presentation, to impress. Early-Eighties singles like “Kaleidoscope World” and the heartbroken “Pink Frost” sat comfortably next to new millennial tunes “Deep Belief” and the waltzing “Lord of All I Survey.”

The crowd saved its most enthusiastic reaction for penultimate tune “Heavenly Pop Hit,” the Brian Wilson-esque college radio fave from 1990’s Submarine Bells. Considering the band could’ve doubled the set list without a single clunker, 45 minutes was hardly enough to cover a career this expansive. Yet the Chills did their best with what they were given, and that proved enough.

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The Chills

Tuesday, March 12, 1am, Barracuda Backyard