LATEST MEDIA LINKS! .:: 23/06/2009 ::. by Moderator.
LIVE RADIO AND WEBCAST ON TOUR .:: 12/06/2009 ::. by Moderator.
THE CHURCH SUPPORTING AUTISM AND THE DOUG FLUTIE JR FOUNDATION: .:: 10/06/2009 ::. by Marty, Peter, Steve And Tim.
PRESENTING UNTITLED #23 - USA RELEASE 12TH MAY 2009 .:: 03/05/2009 ::. by Moderator.
(UNORTHODOX/MGM/SECONDMOTIONRECORDS)
Buy the CD or download from
Second Motion Records (USA) where you can pre-order the double vinyl album.
Listen and buy
Untitled #23 @
Rhapsody online USA subscribers only
Buy cd from
Churchmerch (Australia)
Free mp3 of Anchorage @
Amazon.com
The Rolling Stone (Aus) and Inpress reviews of Untitled #23
(Unorthodox/MGM/Second Motion Records)
ROLLING STONE - Australia
Article in June copy of RS out now.
A Renewed Crusade
The Church return to form with a stunningly
ambitious album of shimmering rock
The Church ★★★★★
"While many of their contemporaries are coming out of retirement and dusting off their Eighties hits for reunion tours, the Church, like Nick Cave, have never called it quits, instead continuing to evolve and experiment with music in a way that puts “cutting edge” rock dinosaurs like U2 to shame. The band have deftly kept the key elements of their trademark sound constant, allowing them to try all manner of experiments around the edges without ever alienating or confusing their die-hard fans. Untitled #23 is their most accessible album in recent years, but it’s no less ambitious than recent efforts. Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes’s guitars bubble, scrape and swirl in layers so dense that it takes multiple listens to appreciate the complexity of the arrangements. Amazingly, Steve Kilbey’s instantly recognisable voice and off-kilter phrasing cuts through even the most murky passages, showing studio-smarts that are seldom seen these days outside of Sigur Rós recordings. Like My Bloody Valentine and the aforementioned Icelanders, the Church know that even the most sonically extreme psychedelia needs to be anchored with a solid melodic idea, and this is where Kilbey earns his stripes as one of the country’s most underrated songwriters. You have to admire the Church’s stubborn refusal to cash in on their early success and do the whole nostalgia rock circuit thing. By hanging everything on the faith that their best work is still ahead of them, the Church sound every bit as relevant now as they did way back in 1987. Their new songs sound emotional, raw and at times even scarily angry, without ever sounding like they’re trying to conjure up demons-long banished by years of comfortable living and golfing trips. Even those with a short attention span will find enough immediacy in their sound to remind them that the band that penned one of Australia’s unofficial national anthems “Under the Milky Way” won’t be appearing at a leagues club near you anytime soon" - MATT COYTE. Key Tracks: “Happenstance”, “Operetta”
INPRESS MAGAZINE
"The Church exists in another universe, I think we can all agree. Concepts of time and money and charts ceased to apply so long ago that the mere mention of commercial success seems dirty somehow. The current music composed and recorded by the band is as seamless and beguiling as you'd expect; the songs mesh and blend and for the most sound utterly enchanting. Steve Kilbey's bass throbs like a gentle pulse, his vocals are forever organic and warm, the twin guitar approach from Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes merge layer upon layer of interweaving chord progressions and seductive lead breaks, and drummer/producer Tim Powles adds considered percussive and tempo touches. It is so intoxicating and straight away satisfying that the listener is struck by its apparent ease. Of course, the reality is very different; Untitled #23 has been laboured over for eons and these four men are still ambitious enough to tour internationally and release new music as often as is humanly possible. Two EPs also accompany this longplayer, well worth the investment by the way - all going to show there is still so much spirit and creative hunger in The Church for plenty more material like this to emerge.
And that is something we should treasure, for this is gold. Cobalt Blue opens in that classic familiar yet mysterious Church vein, all otherworldy themes and bewitching backing before the threatening, urging Deadman's Hand establishes a glorious repeating guitar motif in the style of Chromium from 2002's After Everything Now This. Two other tracks played during the recent national tour then follow Pangaea and Happenstance. Again the structure and instrumentation is delightful and instantly alluring and one is tempted not to progress any further. Spacey beats mix with jazzy runs, ghostly harmonies float around, cellos and harps compliment acoustic and electric guitar patterns and through it all Kilbey's signature vocals underpin the whole gorgeous thing. Other highlights abound on the rest of the album, tucked away in strange corners and behind half-closed doors. They don't need to be teased out; you just have to close your eyes and let the offerings wash over you"- EJ CARTLEDGE
Scroll down the site for more reviews of U#23
CHURCH 'SO LOVE MAY FIND US' USA-CANADA TOUR 2009 .:: 05/04/2009 ::. by Moderator.
Love may not make the world go 'round but it sure as hell makes the ride worthwhile - come see us as we head across the USA west to east and then to Canada.
Adam Franklin(of Swervedriver) & Bolts of Melody
will be joining us on the tour as our special guest in the US. Below are confirmed dates. Please check venues for ticket information.
THE CHURCH
'SO LOVE MAY FIND US' TOUR
2009 USA
JUN 10 WED BELLY UP TAVERN * SOLANA BEACH, CA
www.bellyup.com
143 S Cedros Ave # T
Solana Beach, CA 92075, United States
Phone +1 858-481-9022
Gen Admission @ $25.00 Advance / $27.00 Day of Show
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Buy tix here now
JUN 11 - KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic - Los Angeles, CA. In studio performance at 11.15am
JUN 11 THU THE ROXY THEATRE presented by KCRW * WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - SOLD OUT
www.theroxyonsunset.com
9009 West Sunset
West Hollywood, CA 90069, United States
Box Office Phone +1 310-278-9457
Gen Admission @ $25.00 Advance / $30.00 Day of Show
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors open 8pm Showtime 9pm
Tickets from Ticketmaster soon
JUN 12 FRI SLIM’S * SAN FRANCISCO, CA
www.slims-sf.com
333 11th St
San Francisco, CA 94103-4313, United States
Phone (415) 255-0333
Gen Admission @ $26.00 Advance / $27.00 Day of Show ($1.00 venue surcharge added to the
price of each ticket) + bf
ALL AGES ADMITTED - minimum age 6+
Doors open 8pm Showtime 9pm
Buy tix from slimtickets from 10am 12th April
JUN 14 SUN ALADDIN THEATER * PORTLAND, OR
www.aladdin-theater.com
3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland OR 97202 United States
Phone: 503-234-9694
General Admission @ $25.00
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Tix will be available from Ticketmaster
15th June - KEXP VIP CLUB In Studio @ The Triple Door - Seattle, WA - broadcast @ 5pm PST 90.3FM Seattle
JUN 15 MON THE TRIPLE DOOR presented by KEXP * SEATTLE, WA - SOLD OUT
www.tripledoor.com
216 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101 United States
Tickets Phone 206 838 4333
Gen Admission @ $30.00 Advance / $34.00 Day of Show
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors open 5.30pm Showtime 7.30pm
Buy tix here
Live streaming webcast from The Triple Door show, Seattle WA - from the www.synclive.com site Register first!
We hope to also have the player for this available on our myspace page.
JUN 18 THU GOTHIC THEATRE * ENGLEWOOD, CO
www.gothictheatre.com
3263 South Broadway
Englewood, CO, 80113 United States
Phone 303-788-0984
Gen Admission @ $26.00 Advance / $28.00 Day of Show
AGES 16+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
For tickets phone(877)598-6659 or buy online - available from 10am, 11th April
JUN 19 FRI HARRAH'S * NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO -cancelled
JUN 20 SAT HOUSE OF BLUES CHICAGO * CHICAGO, IL
www.houseofblues.com/venues/clubvenues/chicago/
329 N. Dearborn,
Chicago, IL 60654 United States
Phone (312) 923-2000
Gen Admission @ $27.00 Advance / $30.00 Day of Show*
AGES 17+ ADMITTED
Doors open 6pm Showtime 7pm
Tix onsale 11th April from here
JUN 21 SUN VARSITY THEATER * MINNEAPOLIS, MN
www.varsitytheater.org
1308 4th St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414, United States
Phone +1 612-604-0222
Gen Admission @ $22 Advance / $25.00
AGES 18+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Ticket information here - tba
JUN 23 TUE SHANK HALL * MILWAUKEE, WI
www.shankhall.com
1434 N Farwell Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202, United States
Phone +1 414-276-7288
Gen Admission @ $25.00
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Ticket information here
JUN 24 WED THE INTERSECTION * GRAND RAPIDS, MI
www.sectionlive.com
133 Grandville Ave SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503 United States
Phone + 1 616-459-0931
Gen Admission @ $18.00 Adv /$20.00 Day of Show
AGES 17+ ADMITTED
Tickets info here
Doors Open 7pm Showtime 8pm
JUN 25 THU THE MAGIC BAG * FERNDALE, MI
www.the magicbag.com
22920 Woodward Avenue, just north of 9 Mile Road, on the Northeast side of Woodward Ave. Ferndale MI United States
Phone 248-544-1991
Gen Admission $25.00
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors open 8pm Showtime 9pm
For tix phone (800)745-3000 or go online with Ticketmaster
JUN 26 FRI BEACHLAND BALLROOM * CLEVELAND, OH
www.beachlandballroom.com
15711 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, OH 44110 United States
Phone +1 216-383-1124
Gen Admission @ $26.00 Advance / $28.00 Day of Show
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors open 7.30pm Showtime 8.30pm
Curfew 1pm
Buy tix now from Ticketweb on 10th April
JUN 27 SAT REX THEATRE * PITTSBURGH, PA
www.elkoconcerts.com
1602 E Carson St
Pittsburgh, PA 15203 United States
Phone +1 412 381 6811
Reserved Seats @ $25.00 Advance / $30.00 Day of Show
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors Open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Tix will be available soon from Ticketmaster
JUN 28 SUN THE STATE THEATRE * FALLS CHURCH, VA
www.thestatetheatre.com
220 N Washington St
Falls Church, VA 22046 United States
Phone +1 703-237-0300
Reserved Seats @ $24 Advance / $27 Day of Show
AGES 18+ ADMITTED
Doors open 6pm Showtime 8pm
Buy tix online here
JUN 30 TUE RAM’S HEAD ONSTAGE * ANNAPOLIS, MD
www.ramsheadtavern.com
33 West St
Annapolis, MD 21401 United States
Phone +1 410-268-4545
Gen Admission @ $30
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Buy tix online now from here
JUL 1 WED THE TROCADERO * PHILADELPHIA, PA
www.thetroc.com
1003 Arch Street
Philadelphia PA 19107 United States
Phone +1 215-922-6888
Reserved Seats @ $29.50
AGES 21+ ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
Tix available from Ticketmaster from 10th April
JUL 2 THU SHOWCASE LIVE * FOXBOROUGH, MA
www.showcaselive.com
23 Patriot Place
Foxboro, MA, Boston 02035 United States
Phone 888-354-7042 (for tickets)
General Admission @ $20 Advance / $25 Day of Show
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors Open 6pm Showtime 8pm
Tix will be available from www.ticketmaster.com
JUL 3 FRI TUPELO MUSIC HALL * LONDONDERRY, NH
www.tupelohall.com
2 Young Rd
Londonderry, NH 03053 United States
Phone +1 603-437-5100 for tickets or click here
Gen admission @ $35 or $40 for premium
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors open 7.15pm Showtime 8pm
Buy tix here
JUL 5 SUN 2009 STUDIO THEATRE @ HAMILTON PLACE
www.hecfi.on.ca/hamiltonplace/
10 McNab Street South Hamilton,
ON L8P 4Y3 Canada
Ph 905-546-3100
Gen Admission @ $35
Advance $40 day of show
All Ages Admitted
Co-Headliner - Van der Graaf Generator
Showtime 7.30pm
Tix here
JUL 7 - TRALF MUSIC HALL *BUFFALO, NY
www.tralfmusichall.com
622 Main Street,
(downtown Buffalo Theatre district)
Buffalo, NY 14202 United States
Phone: 716-852-2860
Tickets $25 on sale: 2nd May
Phone 1-800-745-3000 or via Ticketmaster
Doors 7pm Showtime 7.30pm
JUL 8 WED IRVING PLAZA * NEW YORK, NY
www.irvingplaza.com
The Fillmore, 17 Irving Place New York, NY 10003
Phone (212) 777-6800
Gen Admission @ $30 Advance / $35 Day of Show
AGES 16+ ADMITTED
Doors Open 8pm Showtime 9pm
Tix onsale 10th April at 12pm @ www.livenation.com
JUL 9 THU THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE * RIDGEFIELD, CT
www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org
80 E Ridge Rd
Ridgefield, CT 06877, United States
Phone +1 203-438-5795
Reserved Seats @ $45.00
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors Open 7pm Showtime 8pm Onstage 9pm Curfew 2am
Tickets $45 - order online here
JUL 10 FRI SWYER THEATRE * ALBANY, NY
Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center
Albany, NY 12202
Phone + 1 518-473-1061
General Admission @ $28.00
ALL AGES ADMITTED
Doors open 7pm Showtime 8pm
* Adam Franklin(of Swervedriver) & Bolts of Melody will be our guest support on US dates.
JUL 11 SAT - CISCO OTTAWA BLUESFEST
www.ottawabluesfest.ca/en/
Lebreton Flats
1 Vimy Place
Ottawa, ON K1R 1C2 Canada
Showtime 1:15pm Onstage 7.15pm - Subway Stage
Tickets here
JUL 12 SUN – IMPERIAL THEATRE,QUEBEC CITY
Quebec City International Summer Festival
240 Saint-Joseph Est
Quebec City, QC, Canada
Phone 418-523-2227
Support TBA
Showtime 7pm Onstage 9.30pm
Toll-Free Info-Festival Line: 1 888 992-5200
UNTITLED #23 CD REVIEWS .:: 03/04/2009 ::. by Moderator.
www.glidemagazine.com
Untitled #23
By Doug Collette
May 27, 2009
3 1/2 stars out of 5
Any musician with a well-defined style must also be the consummate recording artist to prevent with each successive recording from sounding like mere repetition of it predecessor. The Church are artists of just that caliber and their latest album, Untitled #23, bears evidence to those high standards.
"Cobalt Blue" is a somewhat unsettling start, if only because guitars almost but not quite take second place to the oozing synthesizer. But "Deadman’s Hand" is more like the real Church: the sounds of fretboards intertwine ever so slowly to introduce, then support, Steve Kilbey’s whispered vocals. Tim Powles' foursquare drumming lends further shape to the track.
Elsewhere, song structures provide accessibility though individual tracks are less important in the context of Untitled #23 because the cuts flow in and out of each other as if in a dream. The Church, however, know how to add just the proper flourishes to maintain the album's momentum (dreamlike as it might be): Peter Koppes’ acoustic guitars chime in on "Pangea" as do ghostly vocal harmonies that enlarge the soundscape, while there's actually an electric solo from Marty Wilson-Piper on "Sunken Sun.”
Because there is no replication here of the Australian group’s sole hit, “Under the Milky Way Tonight,” nothing on this recording is going to reach out and grab any listener--though "Space Savior" comes close as it's almost upbeat and "Anchorage" likewise finds the band in unison playing and singing with a (languorous) verve like nowhere else on the ten tracks. The latter is an especially artful setup for the two-part conclusion "Lunar" and "Operetta."
Introspective perhaps to a fault, the music of The Church on Untitled #23 is as addictively insinuating as the best of their previous work.
www.pitchfork.com
7/10 stars
Next year, the Church will be thirty years old. The Sydney, Australia, quartet is among the longest-lived, most prolific bands of the last three decades, but in North America, they're pretty much known as a one-hit wonder for 1988's haunted, atmospheric single "Under the Milky Way". It's really not fair because, apart from the late 1990s, they've been consistently good, and LPs like Séance, Priest = Aura, and Heyday deserve to be heard in their entirety. The band regained its bearings early this decade, and 2006's Uninvited, Like the Clouds ranks among their finest albums. Untitled #23, their ironically titled 23rd album (following their Australian discography, that is), isn't quite on that level, but it's still very good.
The primary thing Uninvited had that Untitled doesn't is a big, sweeping single like the former's swirling centerpiece, "Unified Field". But while it may lack an immediately gratifying standout, Untitled #23 is a satisfying album, the kind of record that makes a big catalogue richer and more fun to explore. While it shares some similarities with the band's blissed-out late-80s/early-90s output, Untitled represents a distinct place in the band's career, with slow tempos, languid vocal melodies, and a bigger focus on keyboards than the interplay of Marty Willson Piper and Peter Koppes' guitars. Drummer Tim Powles, with the band since 1994, keeps things basic, opening "Cobalt Blue" with a steady Bonham stomp and staying in the pocket from there. Meanwhile, bassist/vocalist Steve Kilbey is in fine form throughout-- his old-school sing-speak on closer "Operetta" momentarily fooled me into thinking it was Bowie doing a guest turn.
"Pangaea" seems an odd choice for a first single, with its spoken vocals and barely there chorus, and in spite of the backing vocals and violin that sweeten the song's texture, it's ultimately not very memorable. A more obvious choice might have been "Deadman's Hand", a guitar-soaked blast from the past, stuffed full of breathy harmonies, that seemingly glows from within. There are a few other moments of uncommon gorgeousness sprinkled across the album, none more shocking or brilliant than the jazz-tinged guitar solo on "Cobalt Blue", which starts off with a few completely counterintuitive phrases before tying them back into the melody and has a tone that matches the title of the song. The interstellar pound of "Space Saviour", the interlaced vocal lines of "Operetta", and the pulsing dirge "On Angel Street" all reveal a band still full of ideas and willing to pursue a risk.
One of the contributing factors to the band's recent resurrection may be that they've taken complete control of their music, handling their production duties and recording when and where they want to, free from the kind of manipulation and pressure record labels once exerted on them. The Church are still producing at a high level, and Untitled #23 is a must for anyone who's followed them this far.
— Joe Tangari, May 28, 2009
Untitled #23 (Unorthodox/MGM)
Sydney Morning Herald
4/5 stars ****
After 30 years, it's almost as if Steve Kilbey, Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper with drummer Tim Powles plug in at will and stream this sparkling, electric poetry from some guitar-shaped hole in the universe. Cobalt Blue begins with disorientation: a seemingly random chord cycle chased by Kilbey's shapeless melody, only to be sewn together 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. Best of all are On Angel Street and Sunken Sun, gossamer weaves of dream narrative and telepathic restraint." - by Michael Dwyer
Untitled #23
4.5 out of 5 star review
www.allmusic.com/
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
That slight trace of mystery and ambiguity in the title of Untitled #23 is a vague signal that the Church is returning to the spacy, hazy territory of their heyday on this, their 23rd album. The Church has never quite left this swirling psychedelia behind, but Untitled #23 has a delicate, suspended quality, floating at an elevated distance above earth. It's familiar yet not tired because the Church has a unified sense of purpose here, crafting tightly written songs that are then expanded and elongated when recorded, giving them an otherworldly quality. What impresses is the assured, masterly touch: the Church has been at this so long, they weave their spell seamlessly, so it's only when examining the list of the many, many records that preceded this that Untitled #23 seems unique: they have done many good, verging on excellent records, over the past decade, but only this has the songs and the atmosphere to be placed next to their best albums.
Untitled #23
www.avclub.com
by Don Leibold May 12, 2009
After a taste of stardom in the late '80s, The Church crumbled a bit. By the end of a rocky '90s, the band settled into a prolific groove, one that continues to this day. The mellow pace of its latest, Untitled #23, is set by the vagabond's rumination "Cobalt Blue," and it continues throughout: It's as if the band decided that it doesn't need to do everything-it can simply luxuriate in one lushly elongated fever dream. Rich harmonies, cello, harp, and Mellotron feed the mood, complementing the spectral guitar figures that are the band's specialty. The only breaks in the trance are the desperately pounding "Space Saviour" and the blustery "Anchorage." The centerpiece, "On Angel Street," is a spare, hypnotic wonder, sketching out a picture of dead love. Steve Kilbey's romantic, mystical lyrics blend well with the sad rasp of his voice, even when he leans too hard on the mythology in "Sunken Sun." Minor quibbles aside, Untitled #23 finds The Church doling out sonic pleasures with masterful restraint.
The Big Takeover
review
THE CHURCH - UNTITLED #23 (SECOND MOTION)
by Michael Toland
9 May 2009
The eight feet of the men in the CHURCH have long stood in several worlds, which is what makes the long-running Australian band's music so consistently interesting and satisfying. Of late, the group has been diving deep into an ocean of psychedelia, and Untitled #23 is its most acid-washed release yet. The ten tracks float in and out of an ether made of stars and mist, with lush atmospherics more prominent in the mix than ever before. That's not to say the group has left melody behind in pursuit of pure texture - "Happenstance," "Operetta" and "Pangaea" mix tuneship with foggy notions quite well. But the heart of the record lies in shimmering mini-epics like "Anchorage," "Lunar" and "Space Saviour," wherein the Church displays an extraordinary ability to arrive without traveling. Space exploration entwines with a search for inner peace in an undulating vortex of beauty and wonder. Gently defiant proof that artists can and should continue to improve and evolve with age, Untitled #23 is one of the Church's best records.
http://www.thechurchband.com
http://www.secondmotionrecords.com
Filed under psychedelic
www.thedwarf.com.au
Amanda Schneider | Wednesday, April 29
While The Church have been through peaks and troughs of popularity over the past twenty-nine years, their fans remain loyal. Some of these loyal fans do, however, cause me to cringe when during live performances they continue to request radio hits from the 80s such as Under the Milky Way. I wonder why they can't see past the singles and acknowledge the vast and timeless catalogue of music The Church has created since they formed in 1980. So I always hope that, with each new release such as this one, another era of fans are inducted and experience what I felt when I first heard Of Skins and Heart back in 1981.
The band remains, to this day, a creative and artistic -- in the true sense of the word -- collective, so it was with excitement I listened to their new release, Untitled #23.
Cobalt Blue is a dream-like melodious wander through the halcyon days of psychedelia without the kitsch value; some of the more beautiful guitar work I've ever heard on an album. Deadman's Hand has a more pronounced groove and swallows the listener in a vocal, wall of sound, layer cake.
The Church has a lyrical finesse, which over the years has been fine-tuned and the songs on this album display an artistry in this arena. The songwriting skills of this band cannot merely be attributed to their longevity; think of all the '80s bands milking the music buying public at the moment with trite, money-making releases. No, The Church seems to be excelling in their craft throughout the years, and this album displays this abundance of talent.
The vocals in Happenstance lull the body and excite the mind. The vocals feel -- through my headphones -- like they're weaving their way through my mind down, into my heart. Sunken Sun contains a guitar solo which harkens me back to the best Pink Floyd had to offer. A tender and gentle song.
It's ironic to me that, when The Church first started out, Steve Kilbey's voice grated on me a little due to its 'not quite in key or on note' character. Now, this is precisely what I enjoy about his voice; this unpredictability. Other members of the band, particularly Marty Willson-Piper, have gentler voices which melt into Kilbey's, sweetening it.
Anchorage is the most intense song on the album, filled with an ocean of guitars. Peter Koppes and Tim Powles provide a backbone and skill not to be overlooked in this review; many people rave about Kilbey and Willson-Piper, forgetting The Church is a band, not a duo! The flute opening Lunar and the mesmerising drum beat complement the medieval-style bass line. Kilbey sounds very similar to '70s John Lennon in this track.
The album brings to mind the trance-like, meandering brilliance of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, the songs interweaving through time and space to find your mind and to make you feel a certain way. Untitled #23 is an amazing album which will have longevity, because true style never goes in or out of fashion."
Blogcriticsmagazine.org
Music Review: The Church - Untitled #23
Published April 27, 2009
Absolutely mesmerizing. I had no idea The Church still had a record like this in them. Untitled #23 is hands down their best since Heyday, and it gives that one a run for the money. I was so floored I began composing this review before the disc even ended.
One of the things that makes these songs so good is their textured sound. The majestic pop of "Already Yesterday" or "Under The Milky Way" was a thing of beauty, no question. But that style dated very quickly, which is one of the reasons they had such difficulty following up their early success.
The atmospheres The Church toyed with back in the day have now fully matured. Untitled #23 is a dark dream of a record, hypnotic almost. The opening track "Cobalt Blue" draws the listener in immediately. With Marty Willson-Piper's chiming guitars framing Steve Kilbey's haunting refrain "Let it go, let it go" the results are riveting.
"Pangaea" and "Space Saviour" continue the mood, but it is with "On Angel Street" that this record becomes triumphant. It is a film noir journey through Kilbey's subconscious, as he ruminates on a relationship's end. This is the most personal song I have heard in ages, an achingly beautiful piece of music. "Anchorage" is another peak, the interplay between the band is just incredibly tight as the song builds to it's climax. "Operetta" closes things out as they began, with swirling guitars framing stream of conscious lyrics, as only The Church can do. Given the band's spotty record since Starfish, I thought they might have front loaded the best tracks, and I kept waiting for the clunkers to appear. There are none on Untitled #23. To record what is quite possibly their best album ever after nearly 30 years together is an extraordinary achievement.
It is also one hell of a record. I wish I knew the significance of the title, but like everything else here, it really does not matter. All that matters is the music, and in that regard The Church have hit a home run. - GREG BARBRICK
Release Music Magazine - 9/10 stars
(click On Record link & scroll down)
April 26, 2009
The Church have been around for decades now. Here's a reminder that not only are The Church coming up on 30 (!) years as a band but also just how simply elegant they remain. Like a gentle breeze across the sea line, here we find Australia's finest giving us their 23rd album. Somehow they have managed to record the sound of an opening bloom (the lead single "Pangaea") and also retain their ability to write about heartbreak and loss as no one else: "Angel Street".
The intertwining sparks of guitars courtesy of Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes almost come out like barbs from an immaculate row of briars. Vocalist and bassist Steve Kilbey can still channel the subconscious unconscious on his own terms, weaving his basslines as fluidly as any calligraphic scribe. The percussive end of things are punctuated in a subdued stylized manner which somehow brings even more dynamic tension to the proceedings, so kudos to you Mr. Powles.
What is most evident amidst all the textures and tactile ecstasy, is that this band are survivors, veterans: they are intuitive in their songs at this point; it will seem maudlin to the uninitiated it may even come across as listless, this could not be further from the explosive chemistry at work here. The Church do not exist through the usual channels, they let the music speak - and what music it is. To call them surreal would be an understatement; their atmospheres conjure everything from alien vistas to rain drenched misanthropy looking back on its excesses.
Nearing 40, I cannot believe this band are as pertinent and vital as they are. Who would have figured 80:s icons could cast such long and defining shadows some twenty years after their "big break". Talent, ladies and gentlemen, is what we have on display here. Raw, unadorned shamanistic creative abandon continues to flow through them, pray it never stops - PETER MARKS
Sunday Herald Sun 12/4/09 – 4/5 stars
THERE’S no second guessing the Church. Their first studio album in four years has no real title – though the‘‘23’’ probably refers to its numerical place in their catalogue—and is released simultaneously with two EPs and another album described as ‘‘a long-playing ambient-literary hybrid in collaboration with American sci-fi writer Jeff VanderMeer’’. The band that has previously released songs titled Chromium, Disillusionist and
Real Toggle Action delves into its presumably well-thumbed thesaurus for its new set list that includes Happenstance, Operetta and Pangaea. Fabulous! Literary pretensions? Not a bit of it: The Church seem to inhabit their own world of introspection, from which emerge their brooding rainy-day songs that somehow combine lushness with sparseness, the lyrics often asking more questions than they answer. Commercial success, let it be noted, is not
one of this band’s driving forces. When guitarist Marty Willson-Piper noted in a 2004 Sunday Herald Sun interview that ‘‘it’s better not to be successful on your own terms than to be successful on someone else’s terms’’, bandmate Steve Kilbey shot back, ‘‘And we’re very unsuccessful on our own terms’’. Yet this is the album that ought to be bring
old fans back. Building on the strengths of their previous album of original material, 2005’s Uninvited Like the Clouds, Untitled #23 is powerful and absorbing, free of past tendencies to let the songs hang on mood rather than substance.
There is no shortage of variety either: Cobalt Blue is a gentle opener, one of many tender beauties, Deadman’s Hand is a slowburner, while the powerful Space Saviour is an explosive piece of pent-up energy riding on some heavy percussion. Operetta is a majestic finale for the album, a comedown after the drama and emotion before it.
The tragic Angel Street, in contrast, is superb minimalism, almost a spoken-word piece in which Kilbey delivers heart-rending lines of emptiness, pleading: ‘‘You should change the message on your machine, So sad, so strange to hear my name, Makes me cry when you say we’re not at home, And the line goes dead and the trail goes cold.’’
Happenstance drips with romanticism, its lyrics echoing with Old Testament poetry of swelling fruits and snow-fed rivers. Everything is played out in glorious slow motion, many of the songs unwinding over five or six minutes.
It’s a weird paradox from a band that has so strongly accepted their lack of connection
with popular taste: in their efforts to be one of Australia’s most understated bands, discarding even the conventions of album names, they may have come up with one of their best efforts yet.
GRAEME HAMMOND
DOWNLOAD: Space Saviour
FILE BETWEEN: Mazzy Star, REM.
AUSTRALIANA 27/3/09 3 ½ stars
Not many bands survive three decades. And The Church’s 23rd album finds them in fine form sounding focused and fresh. Steve Kilbey recently said “I write songs that I may not understand for years” . And that sums up the church’s dreamy psychedelia. This may not find them a new audience (though Space Saviour and Pangaea sound both cosmic and commercial) but if it was by a new band, they’d be the next big thing. As it is it’ll be an instant fave for long-time church fans. Its time they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. JEFF JENKINS
TIME OFF- Brisbane Street Press
THE CHURCH
Untitled #23
(Unorthodox/MGM) - April 2009
The dreamy, drifty pop world that is The Church is so instantly recognisable that another new album isn’t so much anything new – simply more inspiring beauty for you to submerse yourself into and to add to the canon of tunes that has made up the band’s 20-plus year career.
Drawing almost entirely on their strengths as songwriters and musicians, the 10 songs here are unreservedly low-key. Tracks such as ‘Pangaea’, ‘Happenstance’ and ‘Sunken Sun’ all roll in like the tide, filled with formless guitar lines and solos that break onto the shore and recede back within the songs. The album is scattered with small bristling crescendos such as ‘Space Saviour’, but even these songs are simply the brief high tides while the music continues to lap, swirl and follow familiar patterns.
The one essential ingredient that is vital for a great Church album is romanticism and in that respect Kilbey and Willson-Piper have excelled here. Take ‘On Angel Street’ and ‘Anchorage’, possibly the album’s highlights – in no way clear in their narrative or their intentions, but potent in their twilight moods, their sublime instrumentation, their phrasing and their unwillingness to give up secrets you long to hear – it is these songs alone that make Untitled #23 every bit worth diving into.
And with many songs unfurling out beyond five and six minutes, it’s wonderful to hear The Church, unconcerned with pop nuggets, willing to allow the music to breathe and yield these refined and memorable pearls of seductive melody. **** Richard Alverez
www.messandnoise.com/releases/2000255
The Church
Untitled #23
10 Track, LP (2009, Unorthodox)
Related: The Church.
The trouble with approaching a new record by a band with the history and repute of The Church is that one has to place it in the context of a large sanctified oeuvre, while simultaneously considering it as a stand-alone work born of its own time.
Once the heyday of their career had passed, The Church moved away from the concise songwriting that characterised the era of their mainstream success. On the albums they released this decade, The Church tended to create denser soundscapes and jams that still sparkled with psychedelic flourishes, yet were in danger of becoming increasingly esoteric and impenetrable to casual listeners. Which was perfectly alright for a band that didn’t have anything left to prove in terms of fashionability or commercial viability.
Now, releasing albums on their own Unorthodox label, Kilbey, Koppes, Willson-Piper and Powles have perfected the fine art of pleasing themselves while the iPod generation has moved on to more immediately gratifying musical territory.
Interestingly then, on Untitled #23, The Church attempt to harness some of the sounds of their classic albums and combine them with the more digestible aspects of their recent output. Clearly still relishing the alchemy of creating songs together, they fashion these elements into a series of mid-paced songs that echo with some of the chord progressions and turns of phrase of old. Individual tracks blend into a seamless whole that almost necessitates listening to it as one long song in the manner of ’70s concept album epics. Luckily, The Church realise the value of brevity and spare us the triple gatefold.
The tone is set in opener ‘Cobalt Blue’, which washes over the listener in a gentle and unhurried manner. The following track ‘Deadman’s Hand’ is the closest the album comes to having a song with a hook large enough to make it single material. In fact, it’s a terrific number with one of Steve Kilbey’s most intriguingly oblique lyrics – which revolution is he on his way to crush, exactly?
After such a promising beginning, the album settles into a comfortable groove, full of sparkling guitars, wafting atmospherics and melodic bass lines. It doesn’t deliver the visceral thrill that songs like ‘Electric Lash’ or ‘Reptile’ did, but then it doesn’t have to. It wouldn’t be fair to expect such dizzying heights from the band, especially when songs like ‘Happenstance’ and ‘Sunken Sun’ are such brilliant musical excursions in their own right.
‘Space Saviour’ could teach Jason Pierce a few things about crafting a cosmic gospel tune with its insistent vocal and heavenly crescendos. ‘Anchorage’ revolves around a simple repetitive bass riff and jangling guitars that occasionally burst forth but are continually pulled back to make way for the rousing chorus. It’s a fine teasing device that adds a certain amount of tension to a tune that would be perfect for the end credits of a road movie.
It’s almost inevitable that critics – those who haven’t paid much attention to The Church over recent years – will label Untitled #23 a return to form because of its more focused songwriting. Such assessments would be doing the band a disservice. Instead, Untitled #23 is another milestone in the career of a band that is nowhere near ready to let itself be considered a nostalgia act" - René Schaefer
RAVE MAGAZINE
THE CHURCH – Untitled #23
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
(Unorthodox/MGM)
Album number 23 from Australian guitar stalwarts brims with familiar delights
"Changes are no good, as The Stills memorably sung on their one and only great album. Philosophising aside, the disciples know what to expect with every Church release as the iconic space-rockers’ key elements – Steve Kilbey’ forever-young voice, mystical lyrics and meditative bass pulse, Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes’s multi-layered, substratal guitars, Tim Powles’ subdued yet authoritative drumbeats – have remained unmodified for years. So cool they didn’t even bother finding a name for their new full-length, The Church are still very much the same band they were on 2006’s understated Uninvited Like The Clouds and its monumental predecessors Forget Yourself and After Everything Now This. Take the first four tracks for proof: Cobalt Blue is a classic Church opener in the vein of Sealine, Numbers or Anaesthesia; Deadman’s Hand rides on a gloriously sinister, overdriven arpeggio motif; Pangaea starts off like a sequel to Gold Afternoon Fix’s Grind before soaring into the stratosphere for the chorus; Happenstance’s European canon chord progression and silvery guitars (with a melting-iceberg E-bow solo among them) hark back to OK Computer-era Radiohead while retaining old Steve and co’s signature vibe. Yes, it’s still the same beautiful high, every bit worth the two-and-a-half year wait (not counting the superb B-sides/outtakes compilations Beside Yourself and Back With Two Beasts and this January’s Shriek: Excerpts From The Soundtrack). The concluding treble of Anchorage, Willson-Piper-sung Lunar and Operetta rolls in steady, big waves like the Bondi surf. Same gold" - ****½ DENIS SEMCHENKO
http://merch.thechurchband.com
