The Church announce new album and European Tour 2015
It’s a unique band that finds itself cherished as bona fide legends of new wave and neo-psychedelia while remaining a virtual enigma to the world that knows its name. But maybe that's no more remarkable than the mystery that continues to unfold within its own ranks.
At this stage of the journey, The Churchs' brand new album FURTHER/DEEPER seems both unimaginable and the only option on their endless quest from chaos to resolution. It's an album of breathtaking new vistas and intense emotions, of sinister black caskets and gorgeous caverns of light, a work born of immense struggle and effortless expression.
"The magic started on day one," says singer and bass player Steve Kilbey. "Someone strummed a chord or struck a drum or plucked a note and we were off. We wrote and recorded like demons and it was inspiring to feel every member using all his resources in the service of this record."
On the subject of creation let’s not forget that Mike Joyce, Andy Rourke and Johnny Marr were inspired to form The Smiths after seeing The Church play at Leadmill Sheffield in 1982!
Twenty-six songs for FURTHER/DEEPER born over eight days of exploration in Sydney in late 2013. Guitarist Peter Koppes, recalibrating his personal canvas in the absence of his long-time foil Marty Willson-Piper, drew palpable inspiration from the quartet's remixed chemistry."This new incarnation of the band with Ian Haug has brought a joyous energy to the music we've written together," he says. "The rhythm swings more than usual yet the moods still range from melancholy pop to our modern version of heavy psychedelic rock, as in Laurel Canyon, to the epic gothic-progressive dance track, Globe Spinning."
From the ominous allure of the lead track, ‘Vanishing Man’, to the beguiling tippy toes of ‘Pride Before A Fall’ the chiming keys of ‘Love Philtre’ to the sheer hammer horror ‘Toy Head’ the exhilarating breeze of ‘Old Coast Road’ and the ultimate, panoramic drama of the mini-screenplay that is ‘Miami’, FURTHER/ DEEPER delivers on the promise of its title in a combined blossoming of melody, rhythm and audacity.
For Haug, transitioning from the multi-platinum ashes of Powderfinger to join "one of my favourite bands of all time” was an utterly surreal experience, audibly expressed in fantastic new dimensions of the church's fabled "guitarchitecture".
"The first song we wrote was Miami, and from there we splintered off into several styles of surreal to intense psychedelia — and songs to make you drive fast," he says. "It was a trip. And an incredible honour to be accepted so readily into a songwriting as well as guitar-playing role."
Drummer Tim Powles was again instrumental in the painstaking alchemy that boiled the explosion of ideas down to 12 potent pieces in the early months of 2014, a process that often saw members working simultaneously in separate studios across multiple instruments to produce a work of singular cohesion.
"After an eternal twenty years in the church I marvel more than ever at how we've become masters of our own freedom," Powles says. "No strings attached, no view to winning a prize. How lucky are we? Or have we earned it? We've got better at it too. Or maybe it's got the better of us. It seems to devour us. Like magic."
There is certainly something magical going on with FURTHER/DEEPER so throw yourself in and discover it for yourself by grabbing the album which is released on Unorthodox Records on the 8th June 2015 and catch them on their European Tour throughout May & June 2015.
EUROPEAN TOUR
29/05/15 SPAIN Barcelona - Primavera Sound
31/05/15 GERMANY Cologne - Luxor
01/06/15 FRANCE Paris - New Morning
02/06/15 NETHERLANDS Amsterdam - Paradiso
03/06/15 BELGIUM Hasselt - Muziek-o-droom
04/06/15 UK London - Islington Academy
05/06/15 UK Brighton – The Haunt
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