| Snow Bound | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | The Chills |
| Cover: | Chills_Snow_Bound.jpg |
| Released: | 14 September 2018[1] |
| Recorded: | February–April 2018 |
| Label: | Fire Records |
| Producer: | Greg Haver |
| Prev Title: | Silver Bullets |
| Prev Year: | 2015 |
| Next Title: | Scatterbrain |
| Next Year: | 2021 |
Snow Bound is an album by New Zealand group The Chills, released in 2018. Their second album after a 19-year gap between studio recordings, it reached number 9 in the New Zealand charts.[2] It was recorded in a number of studios in New Zealand over a space of three weeks.[3]
Songwriter Martin Phillipps said, "I was initially was surprised when people said, 'What an upbeat kind of record'. And I thought, 'Wait until you read the lyrics'. There is that contrast between that upbeat sound and dealing with something more personal, going back to that "Leather Jacket" approach."[4] Elsewhere, he described the album as, "hopefully a kind of Carole King Tapestry for aging punks".[5]
The Guardian said, "The opening track, is nearly as good as anything Phillipps has written. Snow Bound drips with his trademarks: the melancholy lyrics paired with joyous melodies; the surging, oddly maritime cast of the music; the interaction of guitar and organ; the open-heartedness of it all."[6] Pitchfork claimed it was their, "most winning album since 1990’s Submarine Bells—brash, tensile, and enormously confident".[7]
AllMusic called it, "a big pop statement, overflowing with singalong choruses, ringing guitars, rich arrangements, and Phillipps' typically trenchant observations. A perfect example of how to make a record that sounds as big as a stadium while still being driven by real emotion."[8] Classic Rock, however, said it was, "Tasteful and eloquent, minus the killer tunes".[9]
All songs written by Martin Phillipps.