The Church

The Church (band)

The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...

's third album, Seance (1983), was a somewhat unexpected about-face from The Blurred Crusade

The Blurred Crusade

The Blurred Crusade is the second album by Australian group The Church which was released in March 1982 by EMI / Parlophone. It shows a change of direction from the new-wave leanings of the band's debut...

s jangling psychedelia

Psychedelic music

Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...

 and upbeat rock. Considerably more atmospheric and brooding in feel, the songwriting employed a greater emphasis on keyboard and string effects with the guitars taking largely textural roles on some songs. While numerous tracks have become fan favorites over the years, the album saw considerably less success in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 than previous releases and had limited exposure internationally. Apart from the rather amorphous noise experiment "Travel By Thought," all songs were written solely by Steve Kilbey

Steve Kilbey

Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....

.

Most notorious among the fanbase and band members themselves is the heavily-treated drum sound, the work of mixing engineer Nick Launay

Nick Launay

Nick Launay is an English record producer and recording engineer. He is currently one of the most sought after producers in the world due to his current success with recent albums by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...

. This somewhat fatal flaw has resulted in Seance being considered sub-par by some followers and given it a comparatively dated sound. Despite this frequent criticism, the tracks "One Day," "It's No Reason" and "Now I Wonder Why" are often considered standouts among the band's material.

Track listing

1. "Fly" (Kilbey)
2. "One Day" (Kilbey)
3. "Electric" (Kilbey)
4. "It's No Reason" (Kilbey)
5. "Travel By Thought" (Kilbey/Koppes/Willson-Piper/Ploog)
6. "Disappear?" (Kilbey)
7. "Electric Lash" (Kilbey)
8. "Now I Wonder Why" (Kilbey)
9. "Dropping Names" (Kilbey)
10. "It Doesn't Change" (Kilbey)

Credits

• Steve Kilbey
  Steve Kilbey
  Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....
  
  : Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, String Arrangements
• Peter Koppes
  Peter Koppes
  Peter Koppes is a guitarist and founding member of Australian independent rock band The Church. As well as his contributions to The Church, he has also released several solo albums....
  
  : Guitar, Hammond Organ
• Marty Willson-Piper
  Marty Willson-Piper
  Marty Willson-Piper is a guitarist and member of Australian independent rock band The Church.After busking his way around the world, he arrived in Australia...
  
  : Guitars and Vocals
• Richard Ploog: Drums, Bongos, Tambourine
• Michele Parker: Backing Vocals on "It's No Reason"
• Russell Kilbey: Harmonica