Martin Phillipps and the Chills “Dreams Are Free”

1996-the-chills-dreams-are-freeThe Chills return with a cheerful two-minute punk-pop love song. Only because it’s the world of Martin Phillipps, it’s a song of forbidden love. Nonetheless, the rollicking organ and crunchy guitar make it a feelgood pop tune that’s begging to be danced to.

The video sees the Chills dressed in white, performing the song in a dirty white room. It cleverly reflects the lyrics – not-quite-pure-white meets not-quite-pure-love.

But just in case things got too close to the world of commercial pop, there’s a bit of weirdness thrown in for good measure. Martin Phillipps is shown with his face covered in some sort of white goop, looking like a cross between The Moon from “The Mighty Boosh” and some sort of Leigh Bowery performance art. It almost seems like a deliberate act of sabotage, as if making a more sunny video could risk the single becoming – gasp – popular.

Best bit: What looks like a hopscotch grid on the ground.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… those girls are poison.

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