The Chills - Soft Bomb (1992)

Martin Phillipps' development as a songwriter continues unabated on 1992's SOFT BOMB. The album's crisp production values, variety of styles, and glorious, melancholy songs recall its predecessor, 1990's SUBMARINE BELLS. Sadly, like that record, SOFT BOMB fared poorly in the sales department. The commercial failure of these fine discs sent Phillipps into a lengthy retreat. When he resurfaced in 1996, he seemed to accept his status as uncompromising outsider who would never reach the mainstream. It's a shame, because Phillipps is a songwriter of the highest caliber. SOFT BOMB contains some of the Chills' very best songs, including "Male Monster From The Id," the exquisitely tender "Halo Fading," and "Water Wolves," the latter benefiting from Van Dyke Parks' haunting orchestration. Perhaps the most telling piece is the starkly beautiful "Song For Randy Newman, Etc." In the line "men like Wilson, Barrett, Walker, Drake," Phillipps eloquently conjures the struggle of several '60s rock casualties, artists for whom he clearly feels an affinity.

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