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Posts: 1651
May 8 09 11:26 PM
See Rock City wrote: Anyone know of upcoming or current U.S. based reviews? What about stations who currently have #23 in their rotation? I wrote a d.j. at KEXP in Seattle (one of the country's most influential indie stations) about #23 and he hadn't even heard of it...
May 8 09 11:28 PM
Spirit March wrote: Has anyone seen the review in Melbourne's Inpress magazine yet? Apparently its a ripper. This is one of the heavy weights here in Australia in the street press.
Posts: 2242
May 9 09 6:52 PM
Posts: 5714
May 9 09 8:03 PM
Faith Healer
Posts: 29
May 11 09 7:09 AM
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfrxz80ldfe
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.
Posts: 6
May 12 09 2:29 AM
B
Posts: 1006
May 12 09 7:52 AM
May 12 09 9:35 PM
That The Church still have great albums in them isn't a surprise; they've already proven themselves one of the few bands unblemished by age. Each year the veteran rock band gets older, grayer, farther removed from their '80s stardom and ostensibly more out of touch with contemporary music, yet their output remains as vital as ever. But even coming on the heels of so many proud late period releases, their latest, Untitled #23, is a stunner, an album as assured, cohesive and downright unforgettable as any they've recorded.
Unlike the agreeable hodgepodge of The Church's other recent releases, Untitled #23 unfolds as one fey, free-form dream, playing like a lost guitar-pop album from the '80s that a label might have deemed too psychedelic for commercial release. The hooks are there, but they're slippery and effusive, bleeding over these songs like runny watercolor paints, leaving behind an ethereal trail of haze and intrigue. Only a few moments break the chimerical mood. With its terse, resounding guitar riff, "Space Saviour" is actually among the least spacey tracks on the album, while the searing yet gorgeous "Anchorage" defiantly pushes against the grain, but otherwise these songs march in lock step, under the influence of the same, ambrosial spell.
In the panthenon of great psychedlic rock albums, Untitled #23 sits proudly alongside Dark Side of the Moon. link
May 12 09 9:46 PM
May 14 09 1:15 AM
THE CHURCH'S COMEBACKThroughout America, The Church will always be known for the smash single "Under the Milky Way." But across international terrain, the Steve Kilbey-led troupe is much more than a one hit wonder with nearly 30 years of history. Its latest is named the vague Untitled #23, bowing on the spiritually provocative fellas' very own label, Unorthodox Records, which marks the follow-up to 2007's El Momento Siguiente.
May 14 09 4:28 AM
Since the early '80s, the Church have appeased their worshippers with a steady string of both group and solo albums, plowing through an ever-wavering line-up while carving out their cosmic niche. Their newest offering, Untitled 23, follows rapidly on the heels of two recent EPs (Pangea and Coffeehounds) and a pair of individual offerings by bassist Steve Kilbey and guitarist Marty Willson-Piper. (In addition to Kilbey and Willson-Piper, the Church also includes founder/guitarist Peter Koppes, now recently returned to the fold, and drummer Tim Powles, the group's newest recruit.) Consequently, it varies little from the group M.O., or for that matter, either of the aforementioned solo turns.
Still, if the title seems somewhat ambiguous, suffice it to say it's also appropriate, albeit it in a bizarre sort of way. Over the course of their career, the Church has procured a hazy cosmic sheen that tilts towards psychedelia, bit also embraces unusually amorphous attempts that defy both expectation and explanation. Hardly surprising, then, that one of their earliest albums was called #The Blurred Crusade#. It's also no wonder that Untitled 23 finds the band falling back on a patented formula that involves a blend of sprawling melodies, ethereal arrangements and ruminating deliberations. The eerie, otherworldly mystique of "Pangea," "Deadman's Hand" and "On Angel Street" sound as if they were beamed down from a distant galaxy, but fortunately, the pulsating tempos and darker designs maintain enough tension to ensure interest. Still, it's the rare offering that find the foursome breaking out of the atmospherics and attempting to do more than mere drifting through yet another droning mélange. For example, the set's best song, "Space Savior," starts with a somewhat understated delivery but promptly builds towards an insistent crescendo.
Suffice it to say those willing to commit to repeated listens will find this Church experience a more satisfying encounter. As far as all others are concerned, be forewarned - a cursory hearing makes potential appeal strictly a matter of faith.
May 14 09 5:09 AM
May 21 09 9:35 PM
The Church transcend time with Untitled #23
by Craig Vennes
It's one thing to last over 20 years in the music industry, but to do so while continually progressing with every release is simply unheard of. One might expect a loss of vitality when approaching a 3rd decade, but such is not the case with the Church, whose most recent album Untitled #23 shows the band's done far more than just stand the test of time.
The listener is elevated to new heights from the very beginning, starting with "Cobalt Blue", which gives you a sense of what the view might be from cloud nine. The view from such heights is breathtaking, so to resist euphoria at this point would be beyond comprehension. Instead, relish in the idea of being suspended in a perpetual daydream. The urgency of "Deadman's Hand" smoothly transitions into "Pangaea", combining abstract imagery & a transcendental feeling that one should expect from the Church. What follows is truly an epiphany, as "Happenstance" provides evidence that sometimes things merely fall into place. Although everything appears to have been strategically aligned, this is only a mirage. You're witnessing masters of their craft, as only the most prolific of bands could create the celestial combination of "On Angel Street" and "Sunken Sun". The Church have always balked at the idea of literally being grounded in life and Untitled #23 demonstrates that true happiness occurs when you allow yourself the opportunity to simply drift away.
The Church - Untitled 23 Available on Unorthodox / Second Motion Records
Overall Rating: 9 out of 10
May 28 09 1:12 AM
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
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
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