The Church releases new album

(New Wave Update)

by aLfie vera mella

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A classic and prolific New Wave band, originally hailing from Australia, The Church has just released its 18th proper studio album, Further/Deeper, in late 2014.

"Pride before a Fall" is a song off the new album--a slow burner with shimmering guitars, psychedelic mood, and the distinctive voice of Steve Kilbey. The overall style of The Church in this new offering delves on the psychedelic and shoegaze quality of its music--marked by fuzzy, swirling, effects-drowned guitar and drowned-out vocal tracks.

To many New Wave enthusiasts The Church is best known for the upbeat classic rocker "Unguarded Moment" from the band's debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981);

"Unguarded Moment" (1981)

and the chilly, dreamy, hazy-sounding ballad "Under the Milky Way," from the fifth album, Starfish (1988). 

"Under the Milky Way" (1988)

However, my number-one favorite remains to be "Already Yesterday," from the fourth album, Heyday (1985), primarily because of the beautiful choral vocal arrangement in the song.

"Already Yesterday" (1985)

The common distinctive characteristics of the music of The Church are the psychedelic style of the guitars--swirling, flanger- and reverb-drenched, which hark to the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd; the bright jangly guitars rooted in the '60s psychedelia of The Byrds; and the laidback, almost unintelligible, buried-in-the-mix low-register vocals. For all these, The Church may be easily cited as one of the sowers of the seeds of what came to be known as Shoegaze music.

"Pride before a Fall" (2014)

Formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1980, The Church has released 21 full-length albums (18 proper studio albums, two acoustic albums, and one soundtrack).  The current members of The Church are longtime bandleader Steve Kilbey (lead singer-songwriter, bass player), Tim Powles (drummer), Peter Koppes (guitar player), and Ian Haug (guitar player).