The Indie Anthology 48: essential songs

After Indietracks Festival, it was bound to happen. The next tune included in our Indie Anthology is one of the most haunting songs ever made, 30 years after its release, I was finally able to see it live. Folks, we are going down under once again... to the mysterious and bewitching Dunedin Sound...

Song: Pink Frost
Artist: The Chills
Year: 1984

Where does it comes from? What stars aligned when Martin Phillipps (a genius so criminally underrated, at least in Spain-Europe) composed this captivating song? Well, it's not just one song. It's an assemble of atmospheres resulting in something so much bigger than the sum of its parts. First, we have a sort of upbeat but intriguing 23 seconds intro, where a chiming guitar seems to salute you. But as promising as this start was, the listener is never prepared for what comes next. A haunting shift towards wilderness, to darkness and a moody, nightmarish atmosphere where dreams are scary. 32 seconds (sorry if it looks it seems I dissected each section of the tune... I did) of dour, gloomy jangle before Phillips throws its vulnerable, desperate vocals into the obscure. It goes even better, when, at the mark of the 2.29 minutes 'Pink Frost' shows its last transformation, with the spooky, echoing "She's lost, she's lost" before the songs advances into its final part, although you have the feeling the song could last forever. Flying Nun's finest hour. Period. And watching/listening The Chills playing it live, in expansive, full form at Indietracks, now has completed the circle for me.