Martin Phillipps: Sketch Book, Volume 1

Martin Phillipps has always faced adversity, although his life has never been documented. Since he first formed The Chills in 1980 as part of New Zealand's burgeoning independent music scene, numerous lineup changes have stunted his prolific songwriting output, resulting in only four full albums and a singles compilation over the last 20 years. Phillipps's introspective songwriting has always been related to his troubles—failed romances and deaths of friends are not uncommon lyrical topics—but following 1996's Sunburnt and yet another lineup split, he broke down completely. By 1998, Phillipps, plagued by drug problems, was almost entirely engulfed by his misery, blocking out any outside help. Suddenly, however, he began to turn things around, due to an epiphanous dream, a ground swell of fan support, and his contraction of Hepatitis C (which made him realize how close to death he really was). Now things are looking up for Phillipps: the latest incarnation of The Chills opened a high-profile New Year's Eve show for Split Enz in Auckland, and a new album is in the works.

Sketch Book, Phillipps's first release since 1996, collects 17 home demos and works in progress, all but one previously unreleased. Recorded on his trusty four-track, the songs are as strong as anything he has done, exemplifying his exquisite pop songcraft. Musically, he infuses his shimmering melodies with an eerie sense of gloom, evident in tracks like his folk tale ballad "Carabela" and the jangly "Small Spark," which describes struggling with abortion. Lyrically, his songs are as personal as ever. In "Residential Green Cell," he ponders reasons besides drugs for the decline of Syd Barrett, one of his biggest influences—is conscious of how tragically close he came to following in Barrett's footsteps. The songs aren't all amazing, though. A few are admittedly unfinished experiments, but even these are well worth having—the greatest value of Sketch Book is the window it gives into Phillipps's state of mind.

As one awaits the release of the next Chills album, Silver Bullets, tentatively slated for an October release, two questions come to mind: what might Phillipps have accomplished during the last decade, and what masterpieces are still to come? (Flying Nun)

—Sam Engel

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