The Church
Encyclopedia
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. Founding members are Steve Kilbey
on lead vocals and bass guitar, and Peter Koppes
and Marty Willson-Piper
on guitars, while Tim Powles
has played on drums since 1994. Three of the members recorded material as The Refo:mation in 1997.
The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart
(1981), delivered their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment". They were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the United States. However, the US label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing it. This put a dent in their international success, but they returned to the charts in 1988, with the album Starfish
and the US Top 40 hit "Under the Milky Way
". Subsequent commercial success proved elusive, however, and the band weathered several line-up changes in the early 1990s. The last decade has seen them settle on their current line-up. On 27 October 2010, The Church were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
in Sydney.
(ex-The Tactics) played in covers band Baby Grand in Canberra
, Australia. He first played with guitarist Peter Koppes
in glam rock
band Precious Little in the mid-1970s. By 1977, Kilbey had purchased a four-track reel-to-reel tape deck. In March 1980, they formed a three-piece band, Limosine, in Sydney with Nick Ward on drums and began performing. A month later Marty Willson-Piper
(originally from Liverpool
, United Kingdom) joined on guitar, they were named The Church. Supposedly, the name was chosen as it was unclaimed, but later allusions to spiritual interests by Kilbey hint that it was less coincidental. Initially, only Koppes was a fully proficient musician, Kilbey was an erratic bass guitarist and Willson-Piper was searching for his guitar style.
A four-song demo was recorded in Kilbey's bedroom studio. Thanks to contacts from his former band Baby Grand, they sent the tape to Australian record label ATV Northern. The song "Chrome Injury" attracted the attention of publisher Chris Gilbey
who heard it played to Don Bruner, his professional manager. Gilbey signed the band to his recently formed record production company in association with EMI Records
in Australia and the resurrected Parlophone
label. Gilbey went to band rehearsals and helped shape their sound – he bought Willson-Piper a 12 string Rickenbacker
guitar and equipped Koppes with an Echolette tape delay. These purchases assisted the development of the musical direction of the two guitarists and complemented Kilbey's vocal and bass guitar style. Of the four demos, only "Chrome Injury" was officially released.
Their debut album, Of Skins and Heart
, was recorded late in 1980, co-produced by Gilbey and Bob Clearmountain
. Seven of the nine tracks were written solely by Kilbey and two co-written with others. The first single, "She Never Said", was released in November, but did not chart. At the start of 1981, Ward was replaced on drums by Richard Ploog
. He was recruited by their manager, Michael Chugg, after hearing of his reputation in Adelaide, Ploog's arrival established The Church's first stable line-up. The second single, "The Unguarded Moment", was issued alongside the album in March 1981, but initially only in Australia. "The Unguarded Moment" reached No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Singles Chart while Of Skins and Heart achieved the same position on the related Albums Chart. To promote their releases, the band undertook their first national tour.
The first recordings with Ploog were released as a five-track double single / extended play (EP), Too Fast for You in July. It included the first collectively written track, "Sisters". Another track, "Tear It All Away", later released as a separate single, showed a development towards more elaborate guitar structures – regarded as typical The Church sound. Their image evoked comparisons with 1960s psychedelic groups with tight jeans and paisley
shirts.
Of Skins and Hearts commercial success enabled Gilbey to present the release to Freddie Cannon of UK label Carrere and Rupert Perry of United States label Capitol
. Both labels released the album in 1982, renamed as The Church, with repackaged and altered track listings – including songs from Too Fast for You. The Church peaked at No. 7 in the New Zealand Albums Chart and No. 13 in Sweden
. Ploog was incorrectly credited as the sole drummer on the US release, despite only playing on three tracks. Capitol also released an edited single version of "The Unguarded Moment" which was a minute shorter – a decision which displeased the band.
, issued in March 1982, was mixed and produced by Clearmountain. Stylistically more complex than their debut, it is "a smoother, fuller release". "With its mystical lyrics the second album ... brought the group's own style more into focus". The album peaked at No. 10 and its first single, "Almost with You" resulted in a second Top 30 hit, peaking at No. 21.
The Church undertook a second Australian tour, while Carrere released the album in Europe, bringing enough sales to tour there in October. Capitol declined to release The Blurred Crusade in North America and demanded they write more radio-friendly material – as exemplified by stable mates, Little River Band
– which horrified group members. After another recording session, five demos were offered but the US label was unimpressed and dropped the group. Chugg arranged a UK tour supporting pop band, Duran Duran
, but after five gigs The Church pulled out – he later recalled, "They were hard work. All four of them were strong-willed and had their own ideas of how things should be".
Rather than see the demos disappear, Kilbey pushed to have them released in December 1982 as an EP, Sing-songs
, which charted into the Top 100 of the Albums Chart. The Church produced all five tracks and included their cover version of Simon & Garfunkel's hit "I Am a Rock
" which was co-produced with Clearmountain. Compared with The Blurred Crusade, the EP was recorded and mixed quickly and sparsely. Public reception was cool and it was deleted from their catalogue to became a collector's item until re-released on CD in 2001.
, co-produced by The Church with John Bee (Hoodoo Gurus
, Icehouse
, The Divinyls), which peaked at No. 18. It used more keyboards and synthesisers and was described as "That stark release explored the band's darker side, and tracks ... were awash with strings and other effects". The accompanying live shows included a guest keyboardist, Melbourne-based session player Dean Walliss.
For Seance the band employed mixing engineer, Nick Launay
(Midnight Oil
). The result was a distorted, noise-gated drum sound that particularly stood out on the staccato
-like snare. Unsatisfied with the sound, the band asked Launay to redo the mix, but the effect was only lightened. The first single, "Electric Lash," featured this sound prominently – some fans likened it to a "machine gun". Despite dissatisfaction over the mix, Seance featured a lusher, more atmospheric The Church with highlights, "Now I Wonder Why" and "Fly." Internationally, the album sold poorly, being considered dark and cryptic, and the general public seemed to lose interest. Some critics in Europe and US liked the album, with Creem
hailing them as "one of the best in the world".
Seance was dominated by Kilbey's song writing. Some 20 songs were put together on his home 4-track
with other band members presenting material. However, only one band composition made the album: the experimental "Travel by Thought". Kilbey and Willson-Piper had co-written another track, "10,000 Miles", but the label rejected it. Kilbey was upset by the label's interference, finding the track essential to their set – it was included on their next EP, Remote Luxury
.
Foregoing a full album, in 1984 the band released two EPs, Remote Luxury in March and Persia
in August, but only in Australia and New Zealand. Both EPs reached the Top 50 on the Australian Albums Chart. Again, almost all tracks were written by Kilbey, but compared to Seance, the atmosphere was lighter and less gloomy. Persia had the band's trademark guitar sound complemented by the keyboards of guest musicians Davey Ray Moor
(from The Crystal Set
, which included Kilbey's brother Russell) and by Craig Hooper
(The Reels
) who joined as an auxiliary member. Hooper left to form The Mullanes
by early 1985.
Internationally the two EPs were repackaged as a single album titled Remote Luxury
. Its US release on Warner Bros. Records
was the first there since the band's debut – though The Blurred Crusade and Seance had sold on import. Due to the interest raised in the US, they left Michael Chugg Management in Sydney and signed with Malibu Management's owner John Lee. The band toured in October and November, venues in New York and Los Angeles saw audiences of about 1000 people, but other gigs had as few as 50. In financial terms the tour went poorly and the band lost thousands of dollars a week.
The band had reached a nadir in 1984, unable to repeat the success of the first two albums, there was a perception that their creativity was declining. Kilbey later said: "I think we released a few dud records that weren't as good as they should have been, after The Blurred Crusade ... The band was just drifting along in a sea of apathy, I was writing not-so-good songs and the band wasn't playing them very well, so everyone's enthusiasm just waned". 1985 was a quiet year for the band as different members spent time apart in Stockholm
, Sydney and Jamaica
. Kilbey's debut solo single "This Asphalt Eden" was released by EMI Parlophone and he was producer on a single, "Benefit of the Doubt", for The Crystal Set.
in late 1985 to work on their next album. Their first single in almost two years, "Already Yesterday" appeared in October and just made the Top 100. Unlike previously, the resulting recordings were more of a group affair. Released in January 1986, Heyday, produced by Peter Walsh (Simple Minds
, Scott Walker
, Peter Gabriel
), brought in a new stylistic element with the addition of strings
and horns
, creating a warm, organic sound. The songs "were among the richest moments in The Church canon".
Released in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US, the album was warmly received by fans. In Australia it peaked at No. 19, and appeared on the US Billboard 200
. A promotional tour started in April, with concerts both at home and abroad. Unexpectedly, Willson-Piper suddenly quit mid-tour after rising in-band tensions. On 10 July, The Church performed as a three-piece in Hamburg, Germany; Willson-Piper returned within a week after Kilbey agreed that future releases would contain more group efforts.
Despite the charged atmosphere and warm press, low sales for the album's singles in Australia prompted EMI to drop them. Plans for a double live album, Bootleg were also scrapped. The band had greater sales overseas than in Australia, they decided to record in a studio abroad and opted for a four album deal with US label Arista Records
in 1987. For Australian releases they signed with Mushroom Records
/ Festival Records.
(Bob Dylan
, Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams
) and Greg Ladanyi
(Warren Zevon
, Jackson Browne
), were a new challenge according to Kilbey, "It was Australian hippies versus West Coast guys who know the way they like to do things. We were a bit more undisciplined than they would have liked". Personality clashes occurred as the two sides bickered over guitar sounds, song structures and work ethic. Under pressure from the producers, Kilbey took vocal lessons, an experience he later regarded as valuable.
The stress of living in the US influenced their recording, Kilbey felt out of place: Album tracks such as "North, South, East and West," "Lost," "Reptile" and "Destination" bore the imprint of the faces, scenery and daily life of the group's new, temporary home.
After four weeks of gruelling rehearsal, Starfish
, focused on capturing the band's core sound. Bright, spacious and uncluttered, the recording was a departure from the layered orchestrations of Heyday. The group wanted as live and dynamic an album as possible, Willson-Piper said that trying to record a live atmosphere lacked a real gig's sense of "being there". They found the results bare and simplistic; however, the public reception was unexpected.
Released in February 1988, Starfish found its way into the mainstream, it reached No. 11 in Australia and Top 50 in the US. The album was awarded a gold record in December 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America
. Also released in February, "Under the Milky Way
" reached Top 30 in Australia, Canadian Top 100
and US Hot 100 – it peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks. The track was written by Kilbey and then-girlfriend Karin Jansson (ex-Pink Champagne
). The warmth of the melancholic melody shone through on the 12-string-based progression, accented by light keyboards and minimalist electric guitar. Kilbey's baritone vocal, "Wish I knew what you were looking for, might have known what you would find" made the chorus distinctive, providing an abstract, but striking emotional centrepiece. A near-five minute video received airtime on music television programs. "Under the Milky Way" won an ARIA Award in 1989
for 'Single of the Year'. In 2008, readers of The Australian
voted it the best Australian song for the last 20 years, in response Kilbey said, "it's not really about anything at all. I just wanted to create an atmosphere and I didn't even put a lot of thought into that. History has given it something that it never really had".
A second single from Starfish, "Reptile", charted on the Australian Top 100 in August and Billboard Mainstream charts. EMI issued a greatest hits double-album, Hindsight 1980–1987, which peaked into the ARIA Top 40 Albums Chart in July.
keyboardist and bass guitarist, John Paul Jones
, who had a reputation as a sophisticated producer. Despite enthusiasm by all four members, the company and management vetoed their suggestion. To duplicate Starfish’s success, The Church returned to LA with Wachtel producing.
While the previous sessions were tense, these were volatile. Already unenthusiastic about the forced pairing, they had the stress of having to create another hit album, and the external demand for perfection took its toll. All members were outspoken about the role that drugs played in The Church’s creative process, but drummer, Ploog, began to retreat further into his own habit as pressure increased. Recording takes numbered into multiple double digits, Ploog's relationship with Kilbey deteriorated - accentuated by Wachtel's demands for a consistently reliable tempo. Eventually Ploog's isolation led to exclusion, his drum tracks were sampled out and replaced by a rigid, but meter-perfect drum machine. Initially intended to last for a year, his "temporarily excommunicated" status became permanent.
The resulting album, Gold Afternoon Fix
, while different from its predecessor, reached No.12 on Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Albums Chart
. While Starfish focused on a raw, live sound, Gold Afternoon Fix employed more ambient aspects, including piano, acoustic guitars and keyboards. On some tracks, the music was punctuated by clanging metal, rustling wind or sharp, industrial sounds. It "was a disappointment, despite heady moments with the singles".
Gold Afternoon Fix was heavily backed by a marketing and promotion campaign from Arista. The band went on tour for almost two years, hiring Patti Smith
's drummer Jay Dee Daugherty
to replace Ploog. With the company push, the album spawned a hit single "Metropolis" (No. 19 in Australia, No. 11 on Mainstream Rock) but no charting for "You're Still Beautiful". In the US, sales fell noticeably short of Starfish. Strong commercial pressure and private affairs left their mark. Press was mixed and interviews tended towards incoherence or peevishness. The band – particularly Kilbey – would later dismiss the album as "lousy", "hashed together" and "hideous".
, Toad the Wet Sprocket
, Straitjacket Fits
) to supervise the sessions, the band began to improvise the framework for the next set of songs. From fragments and chord changes, songs crystallised and were elaborated upon. The relatively stress-free environment and free flow of ideas (as well as drugs - allegedly opium was a favourite mind-enhancer during the recordings) saw the material take on a far more expansive and surreal quality. New influences took effect: Daugherty's jazz-like approach on drums brought a fresh change, with his contributions extending to keyboards and other instruments. Willson-Piper, having recently worked with All About Eve
, had expanded his own sound with his guitars now soaring in crescendos from his new volume pedal.
Priest=Aura
titled from Kilbey's misreading of a Spanish fan's English vocabulary notes ('priest' = 'cura'), contains fourteen songs, many over six minutes long, its length surpassed all previous releases. With song concepts derived from cryptic, one-word working titles (an idea originally proposed by Willson-Piper), the lyrics leaned towards the abstract and esoteric. Emphasising free association and undirected coincidence between music and motif, Kilbey declined to define their meanings. Sonically, the music had numerous layers, courtesy of guitar overdubs and MacKillop's rich production. The interplay between Koppes and Willson-Piper dominated throughout, especially on tracks such as "Ripple," "Kings," and the epic, aptly titled "Chaos". Chaos lyrics were a reflection of Steve Kilbey's rocky lifestlye at the time.
Upon its release on 10 March 1992, however, Priest=Aura was given a mixed reception. It peaked in the ARIA Top 30, reviews were varied, some critical, with many uncertain how to react. Unlike Gold Afternoon Fix, which was supported by a steady marketing campaign, Priest=Aura had less promotion and dropped below the radar in an international climate with the emergence of grunge
and mainstream alternative. Sales were lacklustre and the band went on only a limited tour, confined to Australia, as Kilbey prepared for the birth of his twin daughters. Adding to the decline in The Church's outlook was the announcement by Koppes of his departure. Despite a completely sold-out tour, increasing personality conflicts within the band especially with Willson-Piper and frustration over the band's lack of success made the situation intolerable. Priest=Aura is considered by both the band and fan base to be an artistic climax.
collaboration with Grant McLennan
(of The Go-Betweens
) and Willson-Piper returned to the studio with All About Eve to record their album, Ultraviolet.
Despite the loss of Koppes, Arista stood by their contract and backed another recording session. Upon finishing their side projects, Kilbey and Willson-Piper decided to write new material. Initial attempts to recreate 'The Church sound' with Daugherty bore little result, and it became clear that he had no intention of staying on as a permanent member. Parting ways after the fruitless sessions, the remaining two began to approach their music from a different angle. Abandoning the long-established roles and stylistic elements, Kilbey and Willson-Piper started a creative process more based in experimentation, spontaneity and electronica.
Early in 1994, the two hired additional musicians and brought in Willson-Piper's childhood friend Andy Mason
to produce, and expanded their sound into hitherto uncharted areas. New Zealand drummer Tim Powles
was hired for the sessions, after having already played on Jack Frost's project with Kilbey. Song structure was freer, with each musician playing multiple tracks on various instruments, to be cut down and refined as pieces later. The two likened the approach to a sculptor's creative process, gradually taking shape as work went on. Although considered temporary at the time, by 1996 Powles became a permanent band member.
The resulting album, Sometime Anywhere
, released in May 1994, was generally well received and peaked into the Top 30. It is described as a "rich, dark, epic release picked up where Priest left off with lush, lengthy tracks". Somewhat shocking to some long time fans, gone were the guitar-based soundscape
s, replaced instead by Eastern tinges, electronic effects and experimental fusion. Sales, however, were paltry and the first single, "Two Places at Once", went nowhere. Promotion fell flat as Arista saw no commercial promise in the release. With yet another consecutive flop on their hands, Arista refused to renew The Church's contract and pulled financial support for a tour. Ambitious plans to have fully accompanied, electric shows were quickly scaled back by Kilbey and Willson-Piper to a short run of acoustic gigs as a duo.
Without a recording deal, the band's future looked bleak, Kilbey and Willson-Piper began work on new recordings in 1995. Although under the concept of a two-man project, the new material saw input from drummer Powles and hired violinist Linda Neil. Renewed contact between Kilbey and Koppes led to the latter agreeing to guest on several songs - a welcome surprise for fans. Simon Polinski (Yothu Yindi
) was drafted in to produce the sessions, leading to a sound more akin to an ambient project. The music saw a return to guitar-based material, this time infused with definite krautrock
and art rock
influences. A 15-minute atmospheric piece dominated the sessions, featuring split Kilbey and Willson-Piper vocals (as previously on “Two Places at Once”). Additional contributions by Utungun Percussion added a new, primal aspect to several songs.
The album was released on the band's own Deep Karma label as Magician Among the Spirits
(inspired by the 15-minute, epic title track). Due to financial constraints, the band had to arrange outside distribution for markets in North America and Europe. This limitation almost doomed the album from the beginning, but worse events were to come. Within a short time, the U.S. distributor went bankrupt, leaving the band stripped of its earnings from North American sales. Although exact figures remain unknown due to disputes, up to A$250,000 worth of merchandise (some 25,000 discs) was lost. For a band already on shaky foundations, this was nearly the death knell. Comments by Kilbey in May of that year summed up the situation: "There's no immediate future for The Church.....Our management, the whole thing is broken down.....We don't really have a label. We're owed lots and lots of money and we're broke. We're trying to pursue lawyers to get our money back. Marty and I aren't having any communication. There's no one really managing us so.....that could have been the last record."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kilbey later went on to disown Magician Among the Spirits as "a load of tripe." Though now viewed largely as a transitional album, it received mixed reviews by the fanbase, despite the guitar rock hook of its single, "Comedown." The album also showed a re-emerging band, with Powles now adopted more as a full-time member and Koppes dabbling with the group again. Nevertheless, the circumstances following the album's release unfortunately led to perhaps the lowest point of the band's career.
(The Fall), Adult Net, Linda Perry
(4 Non Blondes
) and Cinerama
, while also beginning a side project with ex-All About Eve bandmates (titled Seeing Stars) and writing new solo material. Kilbey wrote the score for Australian film Blackrock and recorded an ambient, instrumental album, Gilt Trip, with brother Russell P. Kilbey.
In the absence of any new work as 'The Church', Kilbey, Powles and Koppes spent some studio time together as well. The resulting material - released under the guise of The Refo:mation (initially The Reformation, but altered upon Powles' request) as a courtesy to Willson-Piper - was largely put together in a few quick recording sessions. Loose in feel, but richly atmospheric, the eccentrically titled Pharmakoi/Distance-Crunching Honchos With Echo Units saw a greater focus on concise, guitar-dominated songs, rather than the uncontrolled experimentation of Magician Among the Spirits.
Group tensions for the Church proper were still simmering, however. More than anyone else, it was new drummer Tim Powles that tried to alleviate the outstanding disagreements. While Koppes and Willson-Piper had already had differences for some time, Kilbey and Willson-Piper's relationship was also strained from recent problems. Kilbey began to declare a formal, impending end to the band: after a final, worthy swan song (with the working title Au Revoir Por Favor), the Church would be put to rest. Despite this, the four agreed to play a string of fully electric concerts around Australia, which were extremely successful. The roaring success of the intended "final concert" in Sydney put a quick end to talk concerning the band's demise.
The results of new recording sessions saw a return to the band's roots. Incorporating 70s influences as well as ambient, radio effects, the material was thoroughly based around Koppes and Willson-Piper's guitar interplay. For the first time also, the band completely produced itself (under Powles' aegis). Originally given the name Bastard Universe, the forthcoming album was retitled Hologram of Allah after Willson-Piper found the former too negative. Concerns about fundamentalist Muslim
reaction to a potentially blasphemous title made the band opt for the more neutral Hologram of Baal
(from the Canaanite god
). Released under a new contract with UK independent Cooking Vinyl
, the album was distributed in the U.S. under agreement with Thirsty Ear
. A limited edition of the album featured a bonus disc with a nearly 80-minute, continuous jam session
(given the shelved title Bastard Universe).
The newly rejuvenated (and reformed) band went on their first fully electric tour of the U.S., Australia and Europe in years. A plan to release a live album called Bag of Bones was put into motion and then later cancelled. Instead, a collection of cover songs was recorded, shedding light on the band's influences. Arriving in August 1999 - less than a year after Hologram of Baal - A Box of Birds contained an unusual selection of songs from Ultravox
and Iggy Pop
to The Monkees
and Neil Young
. The insert to the CD was designed as interchangeable, with 10 separate sleeve designs created by fans. As with Hologram of Baal, a tour followed the album's release. New drama hit the band mid-tour in New York City when Kilbey was arrested for trying to purchase heroin. The band was forced to improvise a set after he failed to show, with Willson-Piper covering vocals. A night in jail and a day's sentencing to community service in the Manhattan subway resulted from the bust. "A drug bust is something every aging rock star should have under his belt," Kilbey was later quoted.
in January 2002 saw a focus on the softer elements of the band. With only three obvious "rock" tracks out of ten, calm soundscapes predominated. The successive world tour had the band in a more subtle setting as well, with most tracks performed primarily acoustic alongside guest David Lane on piano.
Fans would not wait long again for another group release - by late 2002, a double-disc compilation called Parallel Universe hit stores. Unique among the band's catalog, the first disc, subtitled 'Mixture', featured a reshuffled, remixed version of the After Everything Now This album, the result of Tim Powles' collaboration with Sydney musicians. The second disc was an added bonus, compiled from the remaining songs of the After Everything Now This recording sessions.
Around the time of Parallel Universes release, the Church returned to the studio to record another album, eventually entitled Forget Yourself
. Rather than fleshing the songs out over a long, gradual process, the band decided to keep the music as close to the original jam-based material as possible. Stylistically, this made for a much rawer sound, primarily recorded live and with minimal overdubs. As had become routine since Sometime Anywhere, songs saw numerous instrument changes between members, with Powles playing guitar on "Sealine" and Willson-Piper switching to drums on "Maya." Forget Yourself was released in Australia in October 2003, and in the U.S. in February 2004.
The prolific nature of the band continued throughout 2004. Under the guidance of manager Kevin Lane Keller
- an American fan and marketing
professor that had been working with them since 2001 - the Church began capitalizing on the advantages offered by the internet and independent music industry. Following up on Hologram of Baal's bonus Bastard Universe, the band released the first of a planned series of jam session CDs, Jammed
, through its website in September. A collection of outtake
s from the Forget Yourself sessions followed soon after, with the tongue-in-cheek title Beside Yourself
.
Within only about a month's time, yet another album followed. This time, the band decided to revisit past material in an all-acoustic setting, along with the inclusion of several new songs. For the first time in years, they also performed "The Unguarded Moment" (albeit in strongly modified form), an early hit from which they had long distanced themselves. As a nod to the song's reappearance, they titled the album El Momento Descuidado
- a rough Spanish translation of its name. A short all-acoustic tour followed the release in late 2004, and the album itself was eventually nominated in 2005 for "Best Adult Contemporary Album" in the Australian ARIA Awards
, though it did not win.
A second internet-only release of songs saw the light in 2005. Unlike Jammed, the album Back With Two Beasts
featured shorter, more structured vocal songs.
In March 2006, the band performed "Under the Milky Way" as part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games
opening ceremony. A new studio album, Uninvited, Like the Clouds
, was released on 17 April 2006. Following in 2007 was El Momento Siguiente
, a second album of acoustic re-interpretations of earlier songs and a few new compositions.
released multiple albums from Church band members in North America. Singer Steve Kilbey
's record Painkiller was released on Feb 17 (preorders starting in mid-Jan), and Marty Willson-Piper's album Nightjar was released (on digipak) on March 3.
2009 also proved to be a busy year for the band as a whole. In 2007, new music was recorded to soundtrack a short film based on Jeff Vandermeer
's book Shriek: An Afterword
; the band released Shriek: Excerpts From The Soundtrack on their own Unorthodox Records in January 2009.
In February, The Church released the EP Coffee Hounds, essentially a double A-sided single featuring the original composition “The Coffee Song” as well as a cover of Kate Bush
's classic “Hounds Of Love”. The following month, the band released the Pangaea EP, the title track serving as a teaser for their upcoming album. The remaining three tracks were all unique to this EP.
Unorthodox Records and Second Motion Records
released the album Untitled #23 through MGM in March (Australia) to coincide with Australian tour dates. Second Motion Records
released it rest of world shortly thereafter. Technically the 23rd Australian Church release of original studio material (counting EPs), Kilbey has also alluded to the mystical significance of the number 23 in a recent interview with music publication Music Feeds
. All of the EP's and albums are available in CD, Limited Edition 2xLP 180 gram Vinyl and Digital Format via Second Motion Records
website http://www.secondmotionrecords.com.
Coinciding with the "Untitled #23" US tour, a book titled "No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey and The Church" by Robert Dean Lurie was published in Australia, the US, and the UK by Verse Chorus Press. While primarily a biography of Kilbey, the book also traced the evolution of the band from his perspective. This was not an official band project but Kilbey, Koppes, and various friends and family members participated.
In February 2010, the band announced a string of U.S. tour dates, calling it "An Intimate Space 30th Anniversary North American Tour 2010". In a unique and unusual execution, the band chose one song from each of their considerable album releases and performed them in reverse chronological order. This original show opened with a track from “Untitled #23” before embarking on a fantastic voyage through time ultimately arriving at their first Australian album, “Of Skins And Heart”.
In April, the band performed "Under the Milky Way" on KUSI News in San Diego, CA. The group was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Hall of Fame, on 27 October by media commentator, George Negus
, while young pop singer, Washington
, performed "The Unguarded Moment". After their acceptance speech, the band performed "Under the Milky Way" and "Tantalized".
In October 2010 Second Motion Records
started to re-release the entire back catalog of The Church with extensive liner notes from guitarist Marty Willson-Piper. Deep In The Shallows is the first ever 30 year singles collection (2xCD) and was released in October along with reissues of their debut Of Skins & Heart and The Blurred Crusade (all with bonus tracks). In November 2010, Seance and Heyday were released also with liner notes from MWP and extra tracks.
In early 2011 Second Motion will reissue Starfish (2xCD), Gold Afternoon Fix 2xCD), Priest = Aura and Sometime Anywhere as well as a limited edition "EP" Box Set. The band toured the US in Feb 2011 playing select cities and are performing three albums (Untitled#23
, Priest=Aura
& Starfish) in their entirety.
The Church was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
at the 2010 Aria Awards and performed two songs live onstage.
The Church celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a special show entitled "A Psychedelic Symphony" on 10 April 2011 at the Sydney Opera House. They were accompanied by George Ellis (conductor) and the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Sydney
. The concert was filmed for a future release on DVD and also televised on MAX TV during October 2011.
, though Kilbey flatly rejects any fixed meaning of his poetry, categorizing them as art pour l'art
. Surveying his body of work, several recurring themes can be noticed: myth
s, legend
s, dream
s and nightmare
s, visions
, drug
fantasies, orientalism
s, biblical
(not exclusively Christian) motifs. These thematic circles are linked, using numerous word plays and references. More recently, Kilbey has stated (about his latest collection, "Eden") his poetry questions "the fabric of love and fear, temptation and creation and our eternal quest for meaning." Often he tries to sketch with few strokes and hints a complete epic course, leaving the details to the listener's imagination.
The Church handle their lyrics to some extent subversively. Strikingly, since the release of 1988's Starfish they have refused to provide lyric sheets to the albums, on the idea that sung lyrics should be listened to, not read. Kilbey likes the idea of a lyric emerging in a person's head, spawning lots of new and unforeseen meanings. This intent notwithstanding, complete collections of Church lyrics can be found on the internet.
Most Church albums have at least one song in which the lyrics and vocals are written and sung by either Peter Koppes or Marty Willson-Piper.
Previous members:
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and the neo-psychedelic
Neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is music that emulates or is heavily influenced by the psychedelic music of the 1960s. It began to be revived among British post-punk bands of the later 1970s and early 1980s and was taken up by groups including bands of the Paisley Underground and Madchester scenes, as well as...
sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay. Founding members are 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....
on lead vocals and bass guitar, and 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....
and 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...
on guitars, while Tim Powles
Tim Powles
Tim Powles is a music producer and artist originally from New Zealand, and though now an Australian resident, he is of English/Irish descent. Also known as timEbandit Powles, his main instrument and first love was the drum kit and tuned percussion. In the 70's he won a scholarship to join the New...
has played on drums since 1994. Three of the members recorded material as The Refo:mation in 1997.
The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart
Of Skins and Heart
Of Skins and Heart is the debut album by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released in April 1981 by EMI/Parlophone records and reached No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. It is the only album to feature founding member Nick Ward on drums and is largely...
(1981), delivered their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment". They were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the United States. However, the US label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing it. This put a dent in their international success, but they returned to the charts in 1988, with the album Starfish
Starfish (album)
The breakthrough 1988 album by The Church, Starfish has remained the band's most commercially successful release. The first single, "Under the Milky Way", charted well into the American Top 40, peaking at #24 and #2 on Mainstream Rock Tracks leading to significant exposure of the then relatively...
and the US Top 40 hit "Under the Milky Way
Under the Milky Way
"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church released in February 1988 with their album, Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend, Karin Jansson...
". Subsequent commercial success proved elusive, however, and the band weathered several line-up changes in the early 1990s. The last decade has seen them settle on their current line-up. On 27 October 2010, The Church were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in Sydney.
Early days to first album (1980–1981)
From the early 1970s, lead vocalist and bass guitarist Steve KilbeySteve 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....
(ex-The Tactics) played in covers band Baby Grand in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia. He first played with guitarist 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....
in glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
band Precious Little in the mid-1970s. By 1977, Kilbey had purchased a four-track reel-to-reel tape deck. In March 1980, they formed a three-piece band, Limosine, in Sydney with Nick Ward on drums and began performing. A month later 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...
(originally from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, United Kingdom) joined on guitar, they were named The Church. Supposedly, the name was chosen as it was unclaimed, but later allusions to spiritual interests by Kilbey hint that it was less coincidental. Initially, only Koppes was a fully proficient musician, Kilbey was an erratic bass guitarist and Willson-Piper was searching for his guitar style.
A four-song demo was recorded in Kilbey's bedroom studio. Thanks to contacts from his former band Baby Grand, they sent the tape to Australian record label ATV Northern. The song "Chrome Injury" attracted the attention of publisher Chris Gilbey
Chris Gilbey
Chris Gilbey OAM is an Australian entrepreneur and music industry identity. He has helped shape the careers of artists such as INXS, Tommy Emmanuel, Keith Urban, The Church, The Saints, AC/DC and Stevie Wright...
who heard it played to Don Bruner, his professional manager. Gilbey signed the band to his recently formed record production company in association with EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
in Australia and the resurrected Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
label. Gilbey went to band rehearsals and helped shape their sound – he bought Willson-Piper a 12 string Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
guitar and equipped Koppes with an Echolette tape delay. These purchases assisted the development of the musical direction of the two guitarists and complemented Kilbey's vocal and bass guitar style. Of the four demos, only "Chrome Injury" was officially released.
Their debut album, Of Skins and Heart
Of Skins and Heart
Of Skins and Heart is the debut album by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released in April 1981 by EMI/Parlophone records and reached No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. It is the only album to feature founding member Nick Ward on drums and is largely...
, was recorded late in 1980, co-produced by Gilbey and Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...
. Seven of the nine tracks were written solely by Kilbey and two co-written with others. The first single, "She Never Said", was released in November, but did not chart. At the start of 1981, Ward was replaced on drums by Richard Ploog
Richard Ploog
-External links:...
. He was recruited by their manager, Michael Chugg, after hearing of his reputation in Adelaide, Ploog's arrival established The Church's first stable line-up. The second single, "The Unguarded Moment", was issued alongside the album in March 1981, but initially only in Australia. "The Unguarded Moment" reached No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Singles Chart while Of Skins and Heart achieved the same position on the related Albums Chart. To promote their releases, the band undertook their first national tour.
The first recordings with Ploog were released as a five-track double single / extended play (EP), Too Fast for You in July. It included the first collectively written track, "Sisters". Another track, "Tear It All Away", later released as a separate single, showed a development towards more elaborate guitar structures – regarded as typical The Church sound. Their image evoked comparisons with 1960s psychedelic groups with tight jeans and paisley
Paisley (design)
Paisley or Paisley pattern is a droplet-shaped vegetable motif of Indian, Pakistani and Persian origin. The pattern is sometimes called "Persian pickles" by American traditionalists, especially quiltmakers,The Persian Pickle Club, Sandra Dallas. St. Martin's Press,...
shirts.
Of Skins and Hearts commercial success enabled Gilbey to present the release to Freddie Cannon of UK label Carrere and Rupert Perry of United States label Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Both labels released the album in 1982, renamed as The Church, with repackaged and altered track listings – including songs from Too Fast for You. The Church peaked at No. 7 in the New Zealand Albums Chart and No. 13 in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Ploog was incorrectly credited as the sole drummer on the US release, despite only playing on three tracks. Capitol also released an edited single version of "The Unguarded Moment" which was a minute shorter – a decision which displeased the band.
Establishing their sound: The Blurred Crusade (1982)
The second album The Blurred CrusadeThe 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...
, issued in March 1982, was mixed and produced by Clearmountain. Stylistically more complex than their debut, it is "a smoother, fuller release". "With its mystical lyrics the second album ... brought the group's own style more into focus". The album peaked at No. 10 and its first single, "Almost with You" resulted in a second Top 30 hit, peaking at No. 21.
The Church undertook a second Australian tour, while Carrere released the album in Europe, bringing enough sales to tour there in October. Capitol declined to release The Blurred Crusade in North America and demanded they write more radio-friendly material – as exemplified by stable mates, Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
– which horrified group members. After another recording session, five demos were offered but the US label was unimpressed and dropped the group. Chugg arranged a UK tour supporting pop band, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, but after five gigs The Church pulled out – he later recalled, "They were hard work. All four of them were strong-willed and had their own ideas of how things should be".
Rather than see the demos disappear, Kilbey pushed to have them released in December 1982 as an EP, Sing-songs
Singsongs
Sing-songs is an EP by The Church.Spurred on by record company insistence, the short Sing-songs ep came on the heels of the Church's 1982 album The Blurred Crusade. Unlike the polished nature of its predecessors, the release's material was quickly written and recorded for U.S. label Capitol Records...
, which charted into the Top 100 of the Albums Chart. The Church produced all five tracks and included their cover version of Simon & Garfunkel's hit "I Am a Rock
I Am a Rock
"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom...
" which was co-produced with Clearmountain. Compared with The Blurred Crusade, the EP was recorded and mixed quickly and sparsely. Public reception was cool and it was deleted from their catalogue to became a collector's item until re-released on CD in 2001.
Introspection & atmosphere: Seance & Remote Luxury (1983–1985)
In May 1983, the band released their third album, SeanceSeance (album)
The Church's third album, Seance , was a somewhat unexpected about-face from The Blurred Crusades jangling psychedelia 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...
, co-produced by The Church with John Bee (Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd...
, Icehouse
Icehouse (band)
Icehouse is an Australian rock band, formed as Flowers in 1977 in Sydney. Initially known in Australia for their pub rock style, they later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synthpop style music and attained Top Ten singles chart success in both Europe and the U.S...
, The Divinyls), which peaked at No. 18. It used more keyboards and synthesisers and was described as "That stark release explored the band's darker side, and tracks ... were awash with strings and other effects". The accompanying live shows included a guest keyboardist, Melbourne-based session player Dean Walliss.
For Seance the band employed 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...
(Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
). The result was a distorted, noise-gated drum sound that particularly stood out on the staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
-like snare. Unsatisfied with the sound, the band asked Launay to redo the mix, but the effect was only lightened. The first single, "Electric Lash," featured this sound prominently – some fans likened it to a "machine gun". Despite dissatisfaction over the mix, Seance featured a lusher, more atmospheric The Church with highlights, "Now I Wonder Why" and "Fly." Internationally, the album sold poorly, being considered dark and cryptic, and the general public seemed to lose interest. Some critics in Europe and US liked the album, with Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
hailing them as "one of the best in the world".
Seance was dominated by Kilbey's song writing. Some 20 songs were put together on his home 4-track
Home recording
Home recording is the practice of recording in a private home, rather than in a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a "project studio" or "home studio". Home recording is practiced by indie bands, singer-songwriters, hobbyists, podcasters, documentarians,...
with other band members presenting material. However, only one band composition made the album: the experimental "Travel by Thought". Kilbey and Willson-Piper had co-written another track, "10,000 Miles", but the label rejected it. Kilbey was upset by the label's interference, finding the track essential to their set – it was included on their next EP, Remote Luxury
Remote Luxury (EP)
The first of two EPs released in 1984, Remote Luxury is one of the more subdued works in the Church's catalog. The release carried on the mix of guitars and keyboard effects of the previous year's Seance, but this time in a lighter, more acoustic setting...
.
Foregoing a full album, in 1984 the band released two EPs, Remote Luxury in March and Persia
Persia (EP)
Persia is an album by The Church, released in August 1984. The follow-up to February 1984's Remote Luxury, the Persia EP continues in a similar stylistic vein. Brighter in feel than its earlier companion EP, it is usually regarded as the stronger of the two...
in August, but only in Australia and New Zealand. Both EPs reached the Top 50 on the Australian Albums Chart. Again, almost all tracks were written by Kilbey, but compared to Seance, the atmosphere was lighter and less gloomy. Persia had the band's trademark guitar sound complemented by the keyboards of guest musicians Davey Ray Moor
Davey Ray Moor
Davey Ray Moor is an England-based songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer.Moor was born in Beirut and raised in Australia, and now lives in England. He first came to musical prominence in Sydney as keyboard player, and occasional vocalist, for an independent rock outfit...
(from The Crystal Set
The Crystal Set
The Crystal Set was a Sydney-based Australian indie rock band formed in the early 1980s featuring Russell Kilbey , Phillip Maher , Davey Ray Moor and Tim Seckhold ....
, which included Kilbey's brother Russell) and by Craig Hooper
Craig Hooper
Craig Hooper is an Australian musician who was a core member of Indie rock band The Reels and was in bands The Mullanes , The Church and The Crystal Set...
(The Reels
The Reels
The Reels is an Australian rock/indie pop group which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976 and initially disbanded in 1991, they eventually reformed in 2007. Their 1981 song, "Quasimodo's Dream", was voted one of the Top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel from Australasian...
) who joined as an auxiliary member. Hooper left to form The Mullanes
The Mullanes
The Mullanes were a New Zealand/Australian rock group which was formed by Neil Finn after the demise of Split Enz in 1984. Mullane is Neil Finn's middle name and was his mother's maiden name...
by early 1985.
Internationally the two EPs were repackaged as a single album titled Remote Luxury
Remote Luxury (album)
In 1984, the Church signed to Warner Bros. in the United States, which was interested in releasing the band's most recent material. Rather than simply put out the Persia and Remote Luxury EPs, the label decided to repackage them as one album. Along with reshuffling the tracks to give them some...
. Its US release on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
was the first there since the band's debut – though The Blurred Crusade and Seance had sold on import. Due to the interest raised in the US, they left Michael Chugg Management in Sydney and signed with Malibu Management's owner John Lee. The band toured in October and November, venues in New York and Los Angeles saw audiences of about 1000 people, but other gigs had as few as 50. In financial terms the tour went poorly and the band lost thousands of dollars a week.
The band had reached a nadir in 1984, unable to repeat the success of the first two albums, there was a perception that their creativity was declining. Kilbey later said: "I think we released a few dud records that weren't as good as they should have been, after The Blurred Crusade ... The band was just drifting along in a sea of apathy, I was writing not-so-good songs and the band wasn't playing them very well, so everyone's enthusiasm just waned". 1985 was a quiet year for the band as different members spent time apart in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sydney and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Kilbey's debut solo single "This Asphalt Eden" was released by EMI Parlophone and he was producer on a single, "Benefit of the Doubt", for The Crystal Set.
Rejuvenation: Heyday (1986–1987)
After a short hiatus, The Church reconvened at Studios 301Studios 301
Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio. Established in 1926, Studios 301 is the longest running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere. It is also Australia’s largest Studio complex featuring state of the art 72 channel Neve 88R console and 72 channel SSL K Series console...
in late 1985 to work on their next album. Their first single in almost two years, "Already Yesterday" appeared in October and just made the Top 100. Unlike previously, the resulting recordings were more of a group affair. Released in January 1986, Heyday, produced by Peter Walsh (Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
, Scott Walker
Scott Walker (singer)
Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
), brought in a new stylistic element with the addition of strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and horns
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
, creating a warm, organic sound. The songs "were among the richest moments in The Church canon".
Released in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US, the album was warmly received by fans. In Australia it peaked at No. 19, and appeared on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. A promotional tour started in April, with concerts both at home and abroad. Unexpectedly, Willson-Piper suddenly quit mid-tour after rising in-band tensions. On 10 July, The Church performed as a three-piece in Hamburg, Germany; Willson-Piper returned within a week after Kilbey agreed that future releases would contain more group efforts.
Despite the charged atmosphere and warm press, low sales for the album's singles in Australia prompted EMI to drop them. Plans for a double live album, Bootleg were also scrapped. The band had greater sales overseas than in Australia, they decided to record in a studio abroad and opted for a four album deal with US label Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
in 1987. For Australian releases they signed with Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
/ Festival Records.
Into the mainstream: Starfish (1988)
Recording sessions in Los Angeles, with producers Waddy WachtelWaddy Wachtel
Robert "Waddy" Wachtel is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work...
(Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
) and Greg Ladanyi
Greg Ladanyi
Greg Ladanyi was an American record producer and recording engineer, known for his work with many musicians, including Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Type O Negative, The Church, Anna Vissi, Toto, Fleetwood Mac, Hollywood Undead, Don Henley and Jeff Healey.-Biography:Ladanyi co-produced the Behind...
(Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
), were a new challenge according to Kilbey, "It was Australian hippies versus West Coast guys who know the way they like to do things. We were a bit more undisciplined than they would have liked". Personality clashes occurred as the two sides bickered over guitar sounds, song structures and work ethic. Under pressure from the producers, Kilbey took vocal lessons, an experience he later regarded as valuable.
The stress of living in the US influenced their recording, Kilbey felt out of place: Album tracks such as "North, South, East and West," "Lost," "Reptile" and "Destination" bore the imprint of the faces, scenery and daily life of the group's new, temporary home.
After four weeks of gruelling rehearsal, Starfish
Starfish (album)
The breakthrough 1988 album by The Church, Starfish has remained the band's most commercially successful release. The first single, "Under the Milky Way", charted well into the American Top 40, peaking at #24 and #2 on Mainstream Rock Tracks leading to significant exposure of the then relatively...
, focused on capturing the band's core sound. Bright, spacious and uncluttered, the recording was a departure from the layered orchestrations of Heyday. The group wanted as live and dynamic an album as possible, Willson-Piper said that trying to record a live atmosphere lacked a real gig's sense of "being there". They found the results bare and simplistic; however, the public reception was unexpected.
Released in February 1988, Starfish found its way into the mainstream, it reached No. 11 in Australia and Top 50 in the US. The album was awarded a gold record in December 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. Also released in February, "Under the Milky Way
Under the Milky Way
"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church released in February 1988 with their album, Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend, Karin Jansson...
" reached Top 30 in Australia, Canadian Top 100
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
and US Hot 100 – it peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks. The track was written by Kilbey and then-girlfriend Karin Jansson (ex-Pink Champagne
Pink Champagne
Pink Champagne was a Swedish feminist punk band in the 1980s. It consisted of four women, Stina Berge , Ann Carlberger , Karin Jansson and Gunilla Welin . Kajsa Grytt was briefly a member...
). The warmth of the melancholic melody shone through on the 12-string-based progression, accented by light keyboards and minimalist electric guitar. Kilbey's baritone vocal, "Wish I knew what you were looking for, might have known what you would find" made the chorus distinctive, providing an abstract, but striking emotional centrepiece. A near-five minute video received airtime on music television programs. "Under the Milky Way" won an ARIA Award in 1989
ARIA Music Awards of 1989
The Third Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 6 March 1989 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. First Australian host Greedy Smith of Mental As Anything was assisted by presenters George Martin and Jono & Dano to distribute 24 awards...
for 'Single of the Year'. In 2008, readers of The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
voted it the best Australian song for the last 20 years, in response Kilbey said, "it's not really about anything at all. I just wanted to create an atmosphere and I didn't even put a lot of thought into that. History has given it something that it never really had".
A second single from Starfish, "Reptile", charted on the Australian Top 100 in August and Billboard Mainstream charts. EMI issued a greatest hits double-album, Hindsight 1980–1987, which peaked into the ARIA Top 40 Albums Chart in July.
"One straight from the factory...": Gold Afternoon Fix (1989–1990)
The Church promoted Starfish, with a nine-month tour before they returned to the studio for a follow-up. With a US Top 50 album under their belt, there was pressure from Arista to create another. The band started negotiations with former Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
keyboardist and bass guitarist, John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
, who had a reputation as a sophisticated producer. Despite enthusiasm by all four members, the company and management vetoed their suggestion. To duplicate Starfish’s success, The Church returned to LA with Wachtel producing.
While the previous sessions were tense, these were volatile. Already unenthusiastic about the forced pairing, they had the stress of having to create another hit album, and the external demand for perfection took its toll. All members were outspoken about the role that drugs played in The Church’s creative process, but drummer, Ploog, began to retreat further into his own habit as pressure increased. Recording takes numbered into multiple double digits, Ploog's relationship with Kilbey deteriorated - accentuated by Wachtel's demands for a consistently reliable tempo. Eventually Ploog's isolation led to exclusion, his drum tracks were sampled out and replaced by a rigid, but meter-perfect drum machine. Initially intended to last for a year, his "temporarily excommunicated" status became permanent.
The resulting album, Gold Afternoon Fix
Gold Afternoon Fix
Gold Afternoon Fix, The Church's seventh studio album, and second on Arista, was released in February 1990. Meant to capitalize and build on the success of 1988's Starfish, the album saw considerable promotion upon its release...
, while different from its predecessor, reached No.12 on Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. While Starfish focused on a raw, live sound, Gold Afternoon Fix employed more ambient aspects, including piano, acoustic guitars and keyboards. On some tracks, the music was punctuated by clanging metal, rustling wind or sharp, industrial sounds. It "was a disappointment, despite heady moments with the singles".
Gold Afternoon Fix was heavily backed by a marketing and promotion campaign from Arista. The band went on tour for almost two years, hiring Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's drummer Jay Dee Daugherty
Jay Dee Daugherty
Jay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
to replace Ploog. With the company push, the album spawned a hit single "Metropolis" (No. 19 in Australia, No. 11 on Mainstream Rock) but no charting for "You're Still Beautiful". In the US, sales fell noticeably short of Starfish. Strong commercial pressure and private affairs left their mark. Press was mixed and interviews tended towards incoherence or peevishness. The band – particularly Kilbey – would later dismiss the album as "lousy", "hashed together" and "hideous".
The Magnum Opus: Priest=Aura (1991–1992)
After the dust had settled following the Gold Afternoon Fix misadventure and subsequent tour, The Church returned to their old haunts at Sydney's Studios 301 to commence work on their next album. With lowered commercial expectations and pressure from Arista, the atmosphere was more relaxed. Bringing in Scottish producer Gavin MacKillop (Barenaked LadiesBarenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
, Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of singer/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss. The band enjoyed chart success in the 1990s with the singles "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want,"...
, Straitjacket Fits
Straitjacket Fits
Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin Sound.-Biography:...
) to supervise the sessions, the band began to improvise the framework for the next set of songs. From fragments and chord changes, songs crystallised and were elaborated upon. The relatively stress-free environment and free flow of ideas (as well as drugs - allegedly opium was a favourite mind-enhancer during the recordings) saw the material take on a far more expansive and surreal quality. New influences took effect: Daugherty's jazz-like approach on drums brought a fresh change, with his contributions extending to keyboards and other instruments. Willson-Piper, having recently worked with All About Eve
All About Eve (band)
All About Eve were a British rock/pop band. The creative core consisted of the Coventry born Julianne Regan , and the Huddersfield born Andy Cousin , with other members changing over the years...
, had expanded his own sound with his guitars now soaring in crescendos from his new volume pedal.
Priest=Aura
Priest=Aura
Priest=Aura is the eighth studio album by The Church.Priest=Aura had little commercial impact. High profile reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone called the album "rich in texture" but with an "arid atmosphere". Left largely without any promotion by Arista, the album's success was limited...
titled from Kilbey's misreading of a Spanish fan's English vocabulary notes ('priest' = 'cura'), contains fourteen songs, many over six minutes long, its length surpassed all previous releases. With song concepts derived from cryptic, one-word working titles (an idea originally proposed by Willson-Piper), the lyrics leaned towards the abstract and esoteric. Emphasising free association and undirected coincidence between music and motif, Kilbey declined to define their meanings. Sonically, the music had numerous layers, courtesy of guitar overdubs and MacKillop's rich production. The interplay between Koppes and Willson-Piper dominated throughout, especially on tracks such as "Ripple," "Kings," and the epic, aptly titled "Chaos". Chaos lyrics were a reflection of Steve Kilbey's rocky lifestlye at the time.
Upon its release on 10 March 1992, however, Priest=Aura was given a mixed reception. It peaked in the ARIA Top 30, reviews were varied, some critical, with many uncertain how to react. Unlike Gold Afternoon Fix, which was supported by a steady marketing campaign, Priest=Aura had less promotion and dropped below the radar in an international climate with the emergence of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
and mainstream alternative. Sales were lacklustre and the band went on only a limited tour, confined to Australia, as Kilbey prepared for the birth of his twin daughters. Adding to the decline in The Church's outlook was the announcement by Koppes of his departure. Despite a completely sold-out tour, increasing personality conflicts within the band especially with Willson-Piper and frustration over the band's lack of success made the situation intolerable. Priest=Aura is considered by both the band and fan base to be an artistic climax.
Instability: Sometime Anywhere & Magician Among the Spirits (1993–1996)
With The Church's future uncertain, members took time off to focus on other projects. Koppes began to establish a solo career with his new group, the Well (including former band mate Ploog). Kilbey turned towards another Jack FrostJack Frost (band)
Jack Frost was an Australian rock band, a side project of The Go-Betweens' Grant McLennan and The Church's Steve Kilbey.Jack Frost released two albums, Jack Frost in 1991 and Snow Job in 1996 ....
collaboration with Grant McLennan
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
(of The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
) and Willson-Piper returned to the studio with All About Eve to record their album, Ultraviolet.
Despite the loss of Koppes, Arista stood by their contract and backed another recording session. Upon finishing their side projects, Kilbey and Willson-Piper decided to write new material. Initial attempts to recreate 'The Church sound' with Daugherty bore little result, and it became clear that he had no intention of staying on as a permanent member. Parting ways after the fruitless sessions, the remaining two began to approach their music from a different angle. Abandoning the long-established roles and stylistic elements, Kilbey and Willson-Piper started a creative process more based in experimentation, spontaneity and electronica.
Early in 1994, the two hired additional musicians and brought in Willson-Piper's childhood friend Andy Mason
Andy Mason
Andrew Paul Mason in Bolton, England, is a retired English professional footballer who played as a forward for various teams in the Football League.His older brother Lee is currently a Premier League referee.-External links:...
to produce, and expanded their sound into hitherto uncharted areas. New Zealand drummer Tim Powles
Tim Powles
Tim Powles is a music producer and artist originally from New Zealand, and though now an Australian resident, he is of English/Irish descent. Also known as timEbandit Powles, his main instrument and first love was the drum kit and tuned percussion. In the 70's he won a scholarship to join the New...
was hired for the sessions, after having already played on Jack Frost's project with Kilbey. Song structure was freer, with each musician playing multiple tracks on various instruments, to be cut down and refined as pieces later. The two likened the approach to a sculptor's creative process, gradually taking shape as work went on. Although considered temporary at the time, by 1996 Powles became a permanent band member.
The resulting album, Sometime Anywhere
Sometime Anywhere
Sometime Anywhere is an album by The Church released in May 1994 via Arista Records. After 1992's Priest=Aura, Peter Koppes departed the band and replacement drummer Jay Dee Daugherty found other work, leaving The Church down to its two remaining founders, Steve Kilbey and Marty...
, released in May 1994, was generally well received and peaked into the Top 30. It is described as a "rich, dark, epic release picked up where Priest left off with lush, lengthy tracks". Somewhat shocking to some long time fans, gone were the guitar-based soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s, replaced instead by Eastern tinges, electronic effects and experimental fusion. Sales, however, were paltry and the first single, "Two Places at Once", went nowhere. Promotion fell flat as Arista saw no commercial promise in the release. With yet another consecutive flop on their hands, Arista refused to renew The Church's contract and pulled financial support for a tour. Ambitious plans to have fully accompanied, electric shows were quickly scaled back by Kilbey and Willson-Piper to a short run of acoustic gigs as a duo.
Without a recording deal, the band's future looked bleak, Kilbey and Willson-Piper began work on new recordings in 1995. Although under the concept of a two-man project, the new material saw input from drummer Powles and hired violinist Linda Neil. Renewed contact between Kilbey and Koppes led to the latter agreeing to guest on several songs - a welcome surprise for fans. Simon Polinski (Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi are an Australian band with Aboriginal and balanda members formed in 1986. Aboriginal members come from Yolngu homelands near Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory's Arnhem Land...
) was drafted in to produce the sessions, leading to a sound more akin to an ambient project. The music saw a return to guitar-based material, this time infused with definite krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
influences. A 15-minute atmospheric piece dominated the sessions, featuring split Kilbey and Willson-Piper vocals (as previously on “Two Places at Once”). Additional contributions by Utungun Percussion added a new, primal aspect to several songs.
The album was released on the band's own Deep Karma label as Magician Among the Spirits
Magician Among the Spirits
Magician Among the Spirits and Some is a 1999 reissue of The Church's 1996 album, Magician Among the Spirits. It replaces the track "Ritz" from the 1996 version with four alternate tracks.-1999 version track listing:#"Welcome"#"Comedown"#"Man"...
(inspired by the 15-minute, epic title track). Due to financial constraints, the band had to arrange outside distribution for markets in North America and Europe. This limitation almost doomed the album from the beginning, but worse events were to come. Within a short time, the U.S. distributor went bankrupt, leaving the band stripped of its earnings from North American sales. Although exact figures remain unknown due to disputes, up to A$250,000 worth of merchandise (some 25,000 discs) was lost. For a band already on shaky foundations, this was nearly the death knell. Comments by Kilbey in May of that year summed up the situation: "There's no immediate future for The Church.....Our management, the whole thing is broken down.....We don't really have a label. We're owed lots and lots of money and we're broke. We're trying to pursue lawyers to get our money back. Marty and I aren't having any communication. There's no one really managing us so.....that could have been the last record."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kilbey later went on to disown Magician Among the Spirits as "a load of tripe." Though now viewed largely as a transitional album, it received mixed reviews by the fanbase, despite the guitar rock hook of its single, "Comedown." The album also showed a re-emerging band, with Powles now adopted more as a full-time member and Koppes dabbling with the group again. Nevertheless, the circumstances following the album's release unfortunately led to perhaps the lowest point of the band's career.
Restoration: Hologram of Baal & A Box of Birds (1997–1999)
After Koppes' departure in 1992, the band members turned their attention to outside projects in 1996 and 1997. Willson-Piper saw collaborations with Brix SmithBrix Smith
Brix Smith-Start is an American singer, guitarist and television presenter, best known for being a member of post-punk band The Fall, and as lead singer and songwriter with The Adult Net.-Biography:Brix grew up in Los Angeles and Chicago...
(The Fall), Adult Net, Linda Perry
Linda Perry
Linda Perry is an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer. Once best known as the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, Perry has founded two record labels and has become a major songwriter and producer...
(4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1989. The group was formed by bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist and guitarist Linda Perry. Prior to the release of their first album, Roger Rocha replaced Hall on...
) and Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
, while also beginning a side project with ex-All About Eve bandmates (titled Seeing Stars) and writing new solo material. Kilbey wrote the score for Australian film Blackrock and recorded an ambient, instrumental album, Gilt Trip, with brother Russell P. Kilbey.
In the absence of any new work as 'The Church', Kilbey, Powles and Koppes spent some studio time together as well. The resulting material - released under the guise of The Refo:mation (initially The Reformation, but altered upon Powles' request) as a courtesy to Willson-Piper - was largely put together in a few quick recording sessions. Loose in feel, but richly atmospheric, the eccentrically titled Pharmakoi/Distance-Crunching Honchos With Echo Units saw a greater focus on concise, guitar-dominated songs, rather than the uncontrolled experimentation of Magician Among the Spirits.
Group tensions for the Church proper were still simmering, however. More than anyone else, it was new drummer Tim Powles that tried to alleviate the outstanding disagreements. While Koppes and Willson-Piper had already had differences for some time, Kilbey and Willson-Piper's relationship was also strained from recent problems. Kilbey began to declare a formal, impending end to the band: after a final, worthy swan song (with the working title Au Revoir Por Favor), the Church would be put to rest. Despite this, the four agreed to play a string of fully electric concerts around Australia, which were extremely successful. The roaring success of the intended "final concert" in Sydney put a quick end to talk concerning the band's demise.
The results of new recording sessions saw a return to the band's roots. Incorporating 70s influences as well as ambient, radio effects, the material was thoroughly based around Koppes and Willson-Piper's guitar interplay. For the first time also, the band completely produced itself (under Powles' aegis). Originally given the name Bastard Universe, the forthcoming album was retitled Hologram of Allah after Willson-Piper found the former too negative. Concerns about fundamentalist Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
reaction to a potentially blasphemous title made the band opt for the more neutral Hologram of Baal
Hologram of Baal
Hologram of Baal is a 1998 album released by The Church.With the full time return of founding guitarist Peter Koppes, the band returned to their roots with an album of songs that recalled the atmospheric and layered guitar sounds of Heyday and Starfish....
(from the Canaanite god
Hadad
Haddad was a northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Akkadian god Adad. Hadad was often called simply Ba‘al , but this title was also used for other gods. The bull was the symbolic animal of Hadad. He appeared as a bearded deity, often shown as holding a club and...
). Released under a new contract with UK independent Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
, the album was distributed in the U.S. under agreement with Thirsty Ear
Thirsty Ear
Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 70s as a marketing company and expanded to issue its own records in 1990....
. A limited edition of the album featured a bonus disc with a nearly 80-minute, continuous jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
(given the shelved title Bastard Universe).
The newly rejuvenated (and reformed) band went on their first fully electric tour of the U.S., Australia and Europe in years. A plan to release a live album called Bag of Bones was put into motion and then later cancelled. Instead, a collection of cover songs was recorded, shedding light on the band's influences. Arriving in August 1999 - less than a year after Hologram of Baal - A Box of Birds contained an unusual selection of songs from Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
to The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. The insert to the CD was designed as interchangeable, with 10 separate sleeve designs created by fans. As with Hologram of Baal, a tour followed the album's release. New drama hit the band mid-tour in New York City when Kilbey was arrested for trying to purchase heroin. The band was forced to improvise a set after he failed to show, with Willson-Piper covering vocals. A night in jail and a day's sentencing to community service in the Manhattan subway resulted from the bust. "A drug bust is something every aging rock star should have under his belt," Kilbey was later quoted.
Reconsolidation: 2000–2008
Recordings for a follow-up album turned out to be painstakingly slow due to numerous side projects and simple geography (with Kilbey in Sweden, Willson-Piper in England and the others in Australia). While taking time off in between to focus on solo efforts and other engagements (including a brief reunion with All About Eve for Willson-Piper), the bandmates met across several separate sessions. Partially recorded in both Sweden and Australia, the resulting After Everything Now ThisAfter Everything Now This
After Everything Now This is an album by the Australian rock band The Church.-Track listing:# "Numbers" – 4:29# "After Everything" – 6:01# "The Awful Ache" – 5:17# "Song for the Asking" – 5:08# "Chromium" – 3:44...
in January 2002 saw a focus on the softer elements of the band. With only three obvious "rock" tracks out of ten, calm soundscapes predominated. The successive world tour had the band in a more subtle setting as well, with most tracks performed primarily acoustic alongside guest David Lane on piano.
Fans would not wait long again for another group release - by late 2002, a double-disc compilation called Parallel Universe hit stores. Unique among the band's catalog, the first disc, subtitled 'Mixture', featured a reshuffled, remixed version of the After Everything Now This album, the result of Tim Powles' collaboration with Sydney musicians. The second disc was an added bonus, compiled from the remaining songs of the After Everything Now This recording sessions.
Around the time of Parallel Universes release, the Church returned to the studio to record another album, eventually entitled Forget Yourself
Forget Yourself
Forget Yourself is an album released by Australian band The Church in 2003.The album was made entirely at drummer Tim Powles' Spacejunk studios in Australia and features many straight-to-tape recordings, making it an album of few overdubs.-Track listing:...
. Rather than fleshing the songs out over a long, gradual process, the band decided to keep the music as close to the original jam-based material as possible. Stylistically, this made for a much rawer sound, primarily recorded live and with minimal overdubs. As had become routine since Sometime Anywhere, songs saw numerous instrument changes between members, with Powles playing guitar on "Sealine" and Willson-Piper switching to drums on "Maya." Forget Yourself was released in Australia in October 2003, and in the U.S. in February 2004.
The prolific nature of the band continued throughout 2004. Under the guidance of manager Kevin Lane Keller
Kevin Lane Keller
Kevin Lane Keller is the E. B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is most notable for having authored Strategic Brand Management , a widely-used text on brand management...
- an American fan and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
professor that had been working with them since 2001 - the Church began capitalizing on the advantages offered by the internet and independent music industry. Following up on Hologram of Baal's bonus Bastard Universe, the band released the first of a planned series of jam session CDs, Jammed
Jammed
The is the second The Church recording of improvised jam rock after the 1998 Bastard Universe bonus disc from Hologram of Baal.-Track listing:#"The Sexual Act" - 38:44 #"Interlock" - 20:00...
, through its website in September. A collection of outtake
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s from the Forget Yourself sessions followed soon after, with the tongue-in-cheek title Beside Yourself
Beside Yourself
Beside Yourself is a compilation album by Australian progressive rock band The Church, combining the iTunes Exclusive Tracks EP, the Forget Yourself United States bonus disc, tracks from the Australian "Song In Space" single, and unreleased tracks from the Forget Yourself sessions...
.
Within only about a month's time, yet another album followed. This time, the band decided to revisit past material in an all-acoustic setting, along with the inclusion of several new songs. For the first time in years, they also performed "The Unguarded Moment" (albeit in strongly modified form), an early hit from which they had long distanced themselves. As a nod to the song's reappearance, they titled the album El Momento Descuidado
El Momento Descuidado
El Momento Descuidado is a 2005 album by The Church featuring acoustic versions of previously released songs and five newly written tracks.-Track listing:#"The Unguarded Moment"#"0408"...
- a rough Spanish translation of its name. A short all-acoustic tour followed the release in late 2004, and the album itself was eventually nominated in 2005 for "Best Adult Contemporary Album" in the Australian ARIA Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, though it did not win.
A second internet-only release of songs saw the light in 2005. Unlike Jammed, the album Back With Two Beasts
Back With Two Beasts
Back With Two Beasts is an album by Australian rock band The Church, released in 2005.-Track listing:# "Snowfaller" – 5:41# "Pantechnicon" – 6:22# "Unreliable External" – 5:02# "Pearls" – 6:36# "Saturation" – 5:42# "Heading South" – 4:37...
featured shorter, more structured vocal songs.
In March 2006, the band performed "Under the Milky Way" as part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
opening ceremony. A new studio album, Uninvited, Like the Clouds
Uninvited, Like the Clouds
Uninvited, Like the Clouds is a 2006 self-produced album by The Church.-Track listing:#"Block"#"Unified Field"#"Space Needle"#"Overview"#"Easy"#"She'll Come Back for You Tomorrow"#"Pure Chance"#"Never Before"#"Real Toggle Action"#"Untoward"...
, was released on 17 April 2006. Following in 2007 was El Momento Siguiente
El Momento Siguiente
El Momento Siguiente is a 2007 album by The Church and the second in the Liberation Acoustic Series following 2004's El Momento Descuidado. The title translates from Spanish as, "The Following Moment."Contains a cover of The Triffids' Wide Open Road....
, a second album of acoustic re-interpretations of earlier songs and a few new compositions.
2009 and beyond
In early 2009, Second Motion RecordsSecond Motion Records
Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
released multiple albums from Church band members in North America. Singer 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....
's record Painkiller was released on Feb 17 (preorders starting in mid-Jan), and Marty Willson-Piper's album Nightjar was released (on digipak) on March 3.
2009 also proved to be a busy year for the band as a whole. In 2007, new music was recorded to soundtrack a short film based on Jeff Vandermeer
Jeff VanderMeer
Jeffrey Scott VanderMeer is an American writer, editor and publisher.He is best known for his contributions to the New Weird and his stories about the city of Ambergris, in books like City of Saints and Madmen.-Biography:...
's book Shriek: An Afterword
Shriek: An Afterword
Shriek: An Afterword is a 2006 novel by Jeff VanderMeer. Shriek is set in the fictional city of Ambergris, a recurring setting in VanderMeer's work...
; the band released Shriek: Excerpts From The Soundtrack on their own Unorthodox Records in January 2009.
In February, The Church released the EP Coffee Hounds, essentially a double A-sided single featuring the original composition “The Coffee Song” as well as a cover of Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's classic “Hounds Of Love”. The following month, the band released the Pangaea EP, the title track serving as a teaser for their upcoming album. The remaining three tracks were all unique to this EP.
Unorthodox Records and Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
released the album Untitled #23 through MGM in March (Australia) to coincide with Australian tour dates. Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
released it rest of world shortly thereafter. Technically the 23rd Australian Church release of original studio material (counting EPs), Kilbey has also alluded to the mystical significance of the number 23 in a recent interview with music publication Music Feeds
Music Feeds
Music Feeds is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed electronically every second Tuesday, with additional material posted on the website regularly....
. All of the EP's and albums are available in CD, Limited Edition 2xLP 180 gram Vinyl and Digital Format via Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
website http://www.secondmotionrecords.com.
Coinciding with the "Untitled #23" US tour, a book titled "No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey and The Church" by Robert Dean Lurie was published in Australia, the US, and the UK by Verse Chorus Press. While primarily a biography of Kilbey, the book also traced the evolution of the band from his perspective. This was not an official band project but Kilbey, Koppes, and various friends and family members participated.
In February 2010, the band announced a string of U.S. tour dates, calling it "An Intimate Space 30th Anniversary North American Tour 2010". In a unique and unusual execution, the band chose one song from each of their considerable album releases and performed them in reverse chronological order. This original show opened with a track from “Untitled #23” before embarking on a fantastic voyage through time ultimately arriving at their first Australian album, “Of Skins And Heart”.
In April, the band performed "Under the Milky Way" on KUSI News in San Diego, CA. The group was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Hall of Fame, on 27 October by media commentator, George Negus
George Negus
George Edward Negus is an Australian author, journalist, and television presenter. He previously presented 6:30 with George Negus on Network Ten, until it was axed by the Network on 19 October 2011.-Education:...
, while young pop singer, Washington
Megan Washington
-Studio albums:-Extended plays:-Singles:-External links:* *...
, performed "The Unguarded Moment". After their acceptance speech, the band performed "Under the Milky Way" and "Tantalized".
In October 2010 Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
started to re-release the entire back catalog of The Church with extensive liner notes from guitarist Marty Willson-Piper. Deep In The Shallows is the first ever 30 year singles collection (2xCD) and was released in October along with reissues of their debut Of Skins & Heart and The Blurred Crusade (all with bonus tracks). In November 2010, Seance and Heyday were released also with liner notes from MWP and extra tracks.
In early 2011 Second Motion will reissue Starfish (2xCD), Gold Afternoon Fix 2xCD), Priest = Aura and Sometime Anywhere as well as a limited edition "EP" Box Set. The band toured the US in Feb 2011 playing select cities and are performing three albums (Untitled#23
Untitled 23
Untitled #23 is the 20th full-length album by Australian rock band The Church. The band counts the three EPs of original material released in the early 80s as album-type releases, making it their 23rd collection of original studio recordings overall....
, Priest=Aura
Priest=Aura
Priest=Aura is the eighth studio album by The Church.Priest=Aura had little commercial impact. High profile reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone called the album "rich in texture" but with an "arid atmosphere". Left largely without any promotion by Arista, the album's success was limited...
& Starfish) in their entirety.
The Church was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
at the 2010 Aria Awards and performed two songs live onstage.
The Church celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a special show entitled "A Psychedelic Symphony" on 10 April 2011 at the Sydney Opera House. They were accompanied by George Ellis (conductor) and the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. The concert was filmed for a future release on DVD and also televised on MAX TV during October 2011.
Lyrics
Most of The Church's lyrics are written by Steve Kilbey, who was the sole songwriter on all albums up to Remote Luxury. Until then, Kilbey brought basically completed/demoed songs to the sessions while the arrangement was a group effort, mostly done by Peter Koppes. This changed since with Heyday in 1985. Now, the songs are results of expanded jam sessions. The music is first written in the studio, after which Kilbey writes the lyrics. His lyrics and poems are often described as surrealSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, though Kilbey flatly rejects any fixed meaning of his poetry, categorizing them as art pour l'art
Aestheticism
Aestheticism was a 19th century European art movement that emphasized aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, the decorative arts, and interior design...
. Surveying his body of work, several recurring themes can be noticed: myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
s, legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s, dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
s and nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
s, visions
Vision (religion)
In spirituality, a vision is something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy, especially a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation.Visions generally have more clarity than dreams, but traditionally fewer psychological connotations...
, drug
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
fantasies, orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
s, biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
(not exclusively Christian) motifs. These thematic circles are linked, using numerous word plays and references. More recently, Kilbey has stated (about his latest collection, "Eden") his poetry questions "the fabric of love and fear, temptation and creation and our eternal quest for meaning." Often he tries to sketch with few strokes and hints a complete epic course, leaving the details to the listener's imagination.
The Church handle their lyrics to some extent subversively. Strikingly, since the release of 1988's Starfish they have refused to provide lyric sheets to the albums, on the idea that sung lyrics should be listened to, not read. Kilbey likes the idea of a lyric emerging in a person's head, spawning lots of new and unforeseen meanings. This intent notwithstanding, complete collections of Church lyrics can be found on the internet.
Most Church albums have at least one song in which the lyrics and vocals are written and sung by either Peter Koppes or Marty Willson-Piper.
Members
Current members:- Steve KilbeySteve KilbeySteven 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....
(b. 13 Sep 1954) – lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, slide guitar, guitar (1980–present) - Peter KoppesPeter KoppesPeter 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....
(b. 21 November 1955) – guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals, percussion, organ, piano (1980–1992, 1998–present) - Marty Willson-PiperMarty Willson-PiperMarty 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...
(b. 7 May 1958) – guitar, backing vocals, bass guitar (1980–present) - Tim PowlesTim PowlesTim Powles is a music producer and artist originally from New Zealand, and though now an Australian resident, he is of English/Irish descent. Also known as timEbandit Powles, his main instrument and first love was the drum kit and tuned percussion. In the 70's he won a scholarship to join the New...
(b. 21 December 1959) – drums (1993–present)
Previous members:
- Nick Ward – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1980–1981)
- Richard PloogRichard Ploog-External links:...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals (1981–1990) - Craig HooperCraig HooperCraig Hooper is an Australian musician who was a core member of Indie rock band The Reels and was in bands The Mullanes , The Church and The Crystal Set...
– keyboards (1984) - Jay Dee DaughertyJay Dee DaughertyJay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
– drums (1990–1993)
Discography
- Of Skins and HeartOf Skins and HeartOf Skins and Heart is the debut album by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released in April 1981 by EMI/Parlophone records and reached No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. It is the only album to feature founding member Nick Ward on drums and is largely...
(1981) - The Blurred CrusadeThe Blurred CrusadeThe 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...
(1982) - SeanceSeance (album)The Church's third album, Seance , was a somewhat unexpected about-face from The Blurred Crusades jangling psychedelia 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...
(1983) - Remote LuxuryRemote Luxury (album)In 1984, the Church signed to Warner Bros. in the United States, which was interested in releasing the band's most recent material. Rather than simply put out the Persia and Remote Luxury EPs, the label decided to repackage them as one album. Along with reshuffling the tracks to give them some...
(1984) - Heyday (1986)
- StarfishStarfish (album)The breakthrough 1988 album by The Church, Starfish has remained the band's most commercially successful release. The first single, "Under the Milky Way", charted well into the American Top 40, peaking at #24 and #2 on Mainstream Rock Tracks leading to significant exposure of the then relatively...
(1988) - Gold Afternoon FixGold Afternoon FixGold Afternoon Fix, The Church's seventh studio album, and second on Arista, was released in February 1990. Meant to capitalize and build on the success of 1988's Starfish, the album saw considerable promotion upon its release...
(1990) - Priest=AuraPriest=AuraPriest=Aura is the eighth studio album by The Church.Priest=Aura had little commercial impact. High profile reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone called the album "rich in texture" but with an "arid atmosphere". Left largely without any promotion by Arista, the album's success was limited...
(1992) - Sometime AnywhereSometime AnywhereSometime Anywhere is an album by The Church released in May 1994 via Arista Records. After 1992's Priest=Aura, Peter Koppes departed the band and replacement drummer Jay Dee Daugherty found other work, leaving The Church down to its two remaining founders, Steve Kilbey and Marty...
(1994) - Magician Among the SpiritsMagician Among the SpiritsMagician Among the Spirits and Some is a 1999 reissue of The Church's 1996 album, Magician Among the Spirits. It replaces the track "Ritz" from the 1996 version with four alternate tracks.-1999 version track listing:#"Welcome"#"Comedown"#"Man"...
(1996) - Hologram of BaalHologram of BaalHologram of Baal is a 1998 album released by The Church.With the full time return of founding guitarist Peter Koppes, the band returned to their roots with an album of songs that recalled the atmospheric and layered guitar sounds of Heyday and Starfish....
(1998) - A Box of Birds (1999)
- After Everything Now ThisAfter Everything Now ThisAfter Everything Now This is an album by the Australian rock band The Church.-Track listing:# "Numbers" – 4:29# "After Everything" – 6:01# "The Awful Ache" – 5:17# "Song for the Asking" – 5:08# "Chromium" – 3:44...
(2002) - Forget YourselfForget YourselfForget Yourself is an album released by Australian band The Church in 2003.The album was made entirely at drummer Tim Powles' Spacejunk studios in Australia and features many straight-to-tape recordings, making it an album of few overdubs.-Track listing:...
(2003) - JammedJammedThe is the second The Church recording of improvised jam rock after the 1998 Bastard Universe bonus disc from Hologram of Baal.-Track listing:#"The Sexual Act" - 38:44 #"Interlock" - 20:00...
(2004) - El Momento DescuidadoEl Momento DescuidadoEl Momento Descuidado is a 2005 album by The Church featuring acoustic versions of previously released songs and five newly written tracks.-Track listing:#"The Unguarded Moment"#"0408"...
(2005) - Back with Two BeastsBack With Two BeastsBack With Two Beasts is an album by Australian rock band The Church, released in 2005.-Track listing:# "Snowfaller" – 5:41# "Pantechnicon" – 6:22# "Unreliable External" – 5:02# "Pearls" – 6:36# "Saturation" – 5:42# "Heading South" – 4:37...
(2005) - Uninvited, Like the CloudsUninvited, Like the CloudsUninvited, Like the Clouds is a 2006 self-produced album by The Church.-Track listing:#"Block"#"Unified Field"#"Space Needle"#"Overview"#"Easy"#"She'll Come Back for You Tomorrow"#"Pure Chance"#"Never Before"#"Real Toggle Action"#"Untoward"...
(2006) - El Momento SiguienteEl Momento SiguienteEl Momento Siguiente is a 2007 album by The Church and the second in the Liberation Acoustic Series following 2004's El Momento Descuidado. The title translates from Spanish as, "The Following Moment."Contains a cover of The Triffids' Wide Open Road....
(2007) - Shriek: Excerpts from the Soundtrack (2008)
- Untitled #23Untitled 23Untitled #23 is the 20th full-length album by Australian rock band The Church. The band counts the three EPs of original material released in the early 80s as album-type releases, making it their 23rd collection of original studio recordings overall....
(2009)