The Church
The Hypnogogue / Eros Zeta And The Perfumed Guitar
Vinyl | CD | DL
Australian psych veterans The Church ruled by the genius of Steve Kilbey melt your mind with beautiful music from two stunning albums that cement the importance of the concept album in this world of throwaway music the kids take for granted. Wayne AF Carey kicks his slippers off and smokes a large pipe full of mushies…
Apologies to all the cult Church fans out there in advance of this review. I’m a latecomer who’s been touched by these two epics that are apparently the first dealings from Kilbey into concept albums. Doing a bit of research on them I’ve noticed a lot of ups and downs with Kilbey and his creation, from the early days of creating the whole sound with Marty Willson Piper and the original members who had a vision to become a massive monster like Floyd, yet are cemented in history as a cult band for people like me to discover years later. They had a piece in history with the iconic Under The Milky Way single which is probably the only tune people talk about regarding the Donnie Darko film and any mention of them forwards.
Well fuck off to that lot, let’s start from scratch here. 26 albums in they are probably the best psych band you’ll hear on the planet. Look back at bands like Tame Impala and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard before listening to these classics by Kilbey. Their sound is emblazoned on all you will hear on these two futuristic albums and Kilbey has kidnapped them all like a serial killer with a black hood, stalking them and burying them in his own dark pit to piss on them before pouring earth on their tombs and stomping it down on their melons.
Both albums span a vision of Kilbey telling the tale of an alien force who have invented some kind of machine called a dream extractor which goes on to picking up the loose narrative thread of a failed rockstar (Eros Zeta) trying to reclaim his faded glory through the use of a dream extractor which is ‘The Hypnogogue’.
The first album The Hypnogogue is just pure psychedelia at it’s best from the outset with opening track Ascendence giving the full Bowie “Dark Star” treatment from the off. The whole album is like a tribute to Bowie with the Ziggy stuff shining throughout yet stomped on with Kilbey’s knowledge of music throughout the eras. Track’s like C’est La Vie and The Hypnagogue are outstanding, as I Think I Know and the slow glam rock majesty of No Other You. It’s a majestic listen and a thrill before you reach the next instalment. This is the best psych journey I’ve heard for years, taking the essence of Floyd and early psych to the next level. I’ve been listening to early Church stuff and the signs have always been there but never in a massive concept way like this. It’s huge stuff.
The kick off track to Eros Zeta is just fucking stunning. Realm Of Mirror Angels just has the perfect guitar riff with Kilbey’s vocals just killing the beauty of it all. Like a warm bath of coconut oil. Next one Pleasure is what it says on the tin. A banger of a tune that shimmers with tunesmith. Kilbey is on top form here, performing the best stuff of his illustrious career. Think Mark Burgess from The Chameleons here. Getting old doesn’t make your songwriting shite as we can witness here. This is top drawer stuff from a master like the afore mentioned. Amanita is an upbeat number that goes all mental psych throughout and has flashes of Lou Reed, Martin Bramah and Jason Pierce flowing throughout. Who ripped off who here though? Do I care when listening to this bit of pure heavenly psych? Do I fuck! All masters at their game have some kind of contribution to my favourite listening.
2054 is the track of the album that gives you the insight to the whole concept to the spiritual listen. It’s the psych anthem to 2024 that tells you the characters guitar is still in hock and he can’t find a clock. An uplifting chorus and a big middle finger up to King Gizzard in songwriting genius. It sounds like Lou Reed on acid having a bitch slap fight with Ian McCulloch whilst Will S. is fighting with his guitar tech! Manifesto is like a blues country track which lightens the load for a few minutes before the moody vibes of The Immediate Future with the excellent drums and echoing vibes from the shimmering effects that hit your ears. Sublimated In Song hits on Bowie’s Dark Star again. A great listen and a nod to Kilbey’s appreciation to the great mans last bow. He may disagree but I’ll argue with him!
Song 18 is again filled to the pouch with great songwriting. A heart wrenching number that gets to your gullet. The Weather is a moody bastard that brings back the Ziggy vibes with a dirty blues riff that goes straight back to Mick Ronson and his magic fingers. Low and dirty which lurches back and forth. Korea is another nod to Bowie from Kilbey walking with Sun Kim Jong apparently. I may be wrong but blow me. Song From The Machine Age is a low slung killer that sounds like it’s been nicked from my mate Chris Bridgett, but has Kilbey been listening to my buddy? I hope so. It’s a tune!
Sleeping For Miles is a proper country tune with that Lou Reed vibe again which you can’t accuse Kilbey of nicking as he’s always been him not Reed. Lovely. Last Melody and A Strange Past go out in two flashes, the first with a maudlin vibe and the last track with some great guitar effects and smooth drumming with even a mention of Dark Star in the lyrics which surprised me. Music From The Ghost Hotel is just a sublime end to a sublime album.
A thrilling end to a fine concept album from someone I can actually call a genius. Steve Kilbey. If you like your Chameleons, Echo And The Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Spiritualized, Pink Floyd or anything modern psychedelia then look no further. These are a band that need listening to. Two albums of pure pleasure to immerse yourselves in for the rest of the year.
Words by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here
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