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Members
Steve
Kilbey (vocals, bass)
Peter Koppes (guitar)
Marty Willson-Piper (guitar)
Tim Powles (drums)
Latest Release
Parrallel Universe (2002)
Albums
/ Lp's
Of
Skins and Hearts (1981)
The Church (1982) USA
The Church (1981) UK
The Blurred Crusade (1982)
Séance (1983)
Remote Luxury (1984)
Heyday (1985)
Starfish (1988)
Gold Afternoon Fix (1990)
A Quick Smoke at Spots(1991)
Priest=Aura (1992)
Sometime
Anywhere (1994)
Magician
Among The Spirits (1996)
Hologram of Baal (1998)
Magician Among The Spirits and Some(1998)
A Box of Birds (1999)
After Everything Now ThisHIS (2001)
Parrallel Universe (2002)
Website
www.thechurchband.com
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Ladies & Gentleman – We hear
at IMC HQ are a little overwhelmed and quite honored to welcome
to our humble roster one of Australia’s finest (& most
distinguished) musical exports, THE CHURCH. We don’t
want to stumble our words – hence we have borrowed
from the official THE CHURCH biography. Thus, for your reading
pleasure, we present a condensed version the story of this
most important act:
Mention The Church to your typical music
lover, and inevitably the spectre of their biggest hit, "Under the Milky Way," haunts
the conversation, like an old debt. If you had a radio in
the late eighties, you probably know that tune, with its
crystalline 12-string guitars and its bagpipe solo. You might
not know, however, that the Australian neo-psychedelic standard
bearers behind that albatross have released more than a dozen
lush, elegant albums, or that their refined and intricate
music - distinguished by bassist Steve Kilbey's mordant tenor,
guitarists Marty Willson-Piper's and Peter Koppes' understated
playing, and the melodic pulse of drummer/producer Tim Powles,
continues to inspire world-wide devotion.
On their 1981 debut, "Of Skins and Hearts" (the
only album to feature original drummer Nick Ward, and including
the hit "Unguarded Moment), Kilbey & Co. came across
as a Down Under counterpart to XTC, playing nervous new wave
pop; later, on "The Blurred Crusade" and "Séance",
Kilbey's songwriting came into its own, while the band discovered
the pleasures of texture.
Beginning with the "Remote Luxury" EP in 1985 (whose
title perfectly describes its sound), they released a series
of nearly flawless records, including "Heyday", "Starfish" and "Priest=Aura" (their
inscrutable but fascinating magnum opus). By this time drummer
Richard Ploog had left, to be replaced (briefly) by Jay Dee
Dougherty; Koppes departed shortly afterwards, so that 1994's "Sometime
Anywhere" found Kilbey and Willson-Piper working as
a duo, relying on drum machines and gadgetry to fill in for
the other players. The result was somewhat ragged and tentative,
but not without its rewards. Koppes gracefully returned for "Magician
Among The Spirits" and "Hologram of Baal",
which continued to flirt with the rhythms and soundscapes
introduced on "Sometime", but with multi-talented
new drummer Tim Powles' production (who had come on board
in 1993 initially as a session player for Sometime ) lending
greater cohesion to the mix. "A Box of Birds",
from 1999, was a surprisingly satisfying covers collection
that gleefully disclosed the band's roots in '60's and '70's
post-punk.
"
After Everything Now This" was the rather telling title
of The Church's first 2002 release (on the bands most comfortable
record label "home" so far, UK's Cooking Vinyl,
with Thirsty Ear Records in the USA, and CMEB for Australasia,
all also home to "Hologram" and "Box of Birds"),
but if that suggests weariness or resignation, recall that
the group's best work has often relied on those very qualities;
this CD was a solid set that summed up The Church's history
and positioned them well for future accomplishments, with
excellent reviews globally ("a masterpiece of stealth"-
Rolling Stone, USA ), enhanced and expanded by a mammoth
55 date world tour of the UK, Europe, USA and Australia from
February 2002 to May. The Church truly reaffirmed themselves
as one of the world's leading and most unique melodic art-rock
bands, regarded by critics as "a powerful, progressive
force in rock music", playing "the most ethereal
sounds this side of paradise".
It should also be noted that Tim Powles did (with the assistance
of a few well hidden local Sydney artists ) reshape and morph
the audio tracks from the "After Everything Now This" sessions,
as a kind of "parallel " outcome to the original
mixes, which, combined with a second disc of previously unreleased
songs from the same sessions, was released international
as the (appropriately titled) ‘Parallel Universe’ album.
Having
followed a chequered yet auspicious path, THE CHURCH are undoubtedly
one of Australia’s finest (& most
distinguished) musical exports. They are on the verge of
releasing one of their most brilliant albums – the
haunting, powerful, melodically discordant and stunning long
player titled “Forget Yourself”. Being akin to
a masterful aural sculpture in itself, release dates for
this album are scheduled as follows:
AUST/NZ: 15th September
UK/EUROPE: 22nd September
USA/CANADA: 7th October
At this point in their career, The Church
have happily, realistically and modestly abandoned all hope
of repeating
the success of "Milky Way", but their self-styled
freedom from the burden of expectations allows them to fashion
and make music as they desire and see fit, without regard
for current trend or the market, trusting in the traditional
virtues of talent, chemistry and good taste to guide them,
the essence of an approach that has served them well for
over twenty years. As one critic stated, their "timeless,
placeless songs hang in the air with a humid presence, like
half remembered objects, mysterious and inviting."
(with
excerpts transcribed from "THE CHURCH" by
Matthew Falk, Foundation- First Avenue issue 21 April 2002
)
Stay tuned for important tour news.
Tourdates
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