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the church biography 2009

Untitled #23

Untitled #23 is the new album by the church. It's a haunting, dark, thrilling, ecstatic, melodic psychedelic journey in ten unforgettable pieces.

To put it another way, Untitled #23 is the latest instalment in one of the longest, richest unbroken streams of creative endeavour the rock'n'roll era has ever witnessed.

Steve Kilbey, Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper founded the church in Sydney, Australia, in 1980. Their public life as accidental hit makers is on the record: Under the Milky Way galvanised the world 20 years ago, and again in 2001 when it opened the smash cult film, Donnie Darko.

Various hits collections attest to a distant era of similarly strange and subversive pop chart victories: The Unguarded Moment, Almost With You, When You Were Mine, It's No Reason, Reptile, Tantalised, Metropolis... all continue to appear, sporadically and often transformed, in the live shows that remain their life blood.

But the church has always been in a parallel orbit to the pop world, a self-generating and utterly engaging art-rock trip that is far easier to experience than to describe – even by their passionate legions of fans around the world.

Since the arrival of drummer Tim Powles some 15 albums ago, the quartet has hit on a peerless creative dynamic of amazingly rich and prolific dimensions, one that seeks no validation beyond the constantly evolving existence that now yields Untitled #23.

"It's almost like the church simply plug in at will and stream this sparkling electric poetry from some guitar-shaped hole in the universe ... Cobalt Blue begins the trip with disorientation ... only to be sewn together near the end with an exquisite guitar dialogue. Pangaea, Happenstance and Operetta fall into the more pleasing structures of yore: a 12-stringed flurry here, an airborne choral hook there, an elegant afterthought of wind, brass or keys ... and tunes lovely enough to hum. On Angel Street and Sunken Sun (are) gossamer weaves of dream narrative and telepathic restraint that scale the peaks of their most elegant work..."
(The Age, Melbourne, April 2009)

Untitled #23 is one of four simultaneous releases streamed from the mystical crossroads of imagination and electricity that the church calls home, each released on their own Unorthodox label:

  • Shriek: Excerpts From The Soundtrack is a long-playing ambient-literary hybrid in collaboration with American sci-fi writer, Jeff VanderMeer.
  • The Coffee Hounds EP features three exclusive vocal and instrumental versions of The Coffee Song, as well as an astonishing cover of the Kate Bush classic, Hounds Of Love.
  • The 4-song Pangaea EP includes the lead track of that title, from Untitled #23, plus 3 exclusive tracks with a song each sung by Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper and the latest tours namesake So Love May Find Us – an otherworldly musical exploration in 18 minutes of bliss.
"Throughout every phase of their strange, beautiful, disorienting journey, the four cornerstones of the church continue to greet and defy expectations: Kilbey the receiver of an endless stream of outlandish images, the guitars of Koppes and Willson-Piper spiralling, aquaplaning, morphing and diverging, and Powles the rhythmic conductor of their discrete and limitless creative cosmos..."
(Michael Dwyer April 2009)

Untitled #23 is available as a 6 panel digipak CD from April 3 in Australia and May 12 in North America.

Untitled #23 will be available from mid-June on double gatefold vinyl, incorporating the three exclusive tracks from the Pangaea EP: LLC, Insanity and So Love May Find Us.

Untitled#23 will also be available on iTunes and digital stores.

PUBLICITY / INTERVIEW REQUESTS, PLEASE CONTACT:

Brian McDonald - RiSH Publicity
P: +612 9660 9119
M: +61 418 604 844
Email: brian.mcdonald@rishpublicity.com
Website: http://www.rishpublicity.com

MANAGEMENT CONTACT:

Tiare Helberg
management@thechurchband.com
http://www.thechurchband.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechurchbandofficial
http://twitter.com/thechurchband

the church

TIMELINE

  • 1980 the church play their first gigs in Sydney, Australia.
  • 1981 Of Skins and Heart LP makes a Top 30 debut. The Unguarded Moment hits #22.
  • 1982 US debut combines Of Skins and Heart and Too Fast For You EP. Classic second album The Blurred Crusade hits Australian Top 10. Almost With You is another hit.
  • 1983 Sing Songs EP in Australia, first UK EP.
  • 1984 Seance album serves notice of more experimental, atmospheric intent. Persia and Remote Luxury EPs released in Australia combined for Remote Luxury album outside Australia.
  • 1985 Steve Kilbey releases first solo disc, a precedent Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes soon embrace with gusto.
  • 1986 Heyday album breaks Australian Top 15, becomes global cult classic.
  • 1987 Top 10 Starfish LP marks new worldwide commercial peak. Under the Milky Way, #5 in Australia, #24 in US. Best Single ARIA. (Australian Recording Industry Association Award)
  • 1990 Metropolis reaches ARIA Top 10. Gold Afternoon Fix LP, another Top 10 hit, seals band’s resolve to put art before commerce.
  • 1991 A Quick Smoke At Spots rarities compilation.
  • 1992 Priest = Aura, a new career high, becomes fan favourite and is the end of an era.
  • 1994 Kilbey and Willson-Piper reconvene for epic Sometime Anywhere set, tour as acoustic duo.
  • 1996 2nd duo LP, Magician Among the Spirits. Koppes makes guest appearance that leads to reunion tour, with drummer Tim Powles completing most cohesive church line-up.
  • 1998 Hologram of Baal cements new line-up, Bastard Universe first 70-minute improvisation album.
  • 1999 A Box of Birds covers album.
  • 2001 After Everything Now This achieves biggest international success in almost 10 years.
  • 2002 Parallel Universe remix album.
  • 2003 Forget Yourself sparks another sweeping world tour headed by a stunning launch at the Sydney Opera House.
  • 2004 Three albums find the church at a new peak of creative health: Jammed is second 58-minute improvisation album, Beside Yourself a second B-sides compilation, El Momento Descuidado first Liberation Blue acoustic album.
  • 2005 Back With Two Beasts, outtakes album with another selection of strong songs.
  • 2006 Uninvited, Like The Clouds released to rapt reviews, El Momento Descuidado nominated for ARIA Award, band performs Under the Milky Way with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to open Commonwealth Games.
  • 2007 Tour with The Pretenders in Australia, second acoustic album, El Momento Siguiente, precedes Deep In The Shallows - The Classic Singles Collection.
  • 2009 Previous year's activity yields two albums: Untitled #23 and Shriek: Excerpts From The Soundtrack, plus two EPS: Coffee Hounds and Pangaea. Yet another major international tour follows. The So Love May Find Us tour kicks off in Australia and continues into North America.
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