Marcelo, you described exactly how I feel about this album. Spaces, push and pull, tension, beauty -- yes, yes, yes, yes. This album was not necessarily my introduction to the Church (that would be "Two Places at Once", but that's another story for another time), but it is the album that cast the spell, as it were. This album hits every right emotional and aesthetic note for me, from start to finish. It evokes late summer nights, when the sky is clear and the breeze is warm, and your sheets are damp with melancholy.

Starfish is full of perfect vocal and lyrical moments -- the delivery of the line "I just hope they don't believe like you do" in "Lost" never fails to touch me with its wistfulness, and "Hotel Womb" will remain one of this band's finest and most graceful moments, especially for Steve -- in my opinion. While there are songs I'm not crazy about on their own -- "Blood Money" and "Reptile" being the notables -- in the context of the album, they provide just the right subtle shift in atmosphere.

"Destination" into "Under the Milky Way" will probably remain as my favorite album opening ever, though Priest=Aura gives it a run for its money. But the weary beauty of those two songs back to back -- "Destination" brings to mind endless expanses of land or time, while "Under the Milky Way" sparkles like light on black glass -- never fails to find its way to the center of my chest.

And I'll have to disagree with Fraulein on "A New Season", as I think it's gorgeous and I honestly can't imagine the album without it. (I have a fondness for Peter Koppes' contributions, though, which I now realize is somewhat in the minority amongst Church fans.) I also think "Antenna" is one of my favorite Church songs -- the sway, the breezy innocence of the music in (trademark!) contrast with Steve's lyrics. I also like "Spark", if only for Marty's swaggering vocal delivery -- it's very sexy, Englishmen over-enunciating their consonants -- ooh la la! Every time I sing along, I have to say "clee-yah." I love that.

Anyway, it is my favorite Church album, and I don't necessarily think it's overtly commercial, sound-wise. What I do find amazing is that at one time, you could turn on the radio in the late 80s and hear "Under the Milky Way" come over the airwaves. That, to me, is a beautiful and remarkable thing.
"My business is a little cloak and dagger."