Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Even fewer bands are like The Church.
Experiencing a renaissance of sorts with their worldwide critically-hailed 26th album The Hypnogogue and a world tour that took them through North America, the UK, Europe and Australia, The Church was met with fervent audiences who embraced not only their early catalog but their new material as well.
A monumental concept album, The Hypnogogue found The Church honing in on their bespoke sound without retreading creative steps, unveiling a cinematic record that couples their trademark psychedelic-splashed indie rock with a dystopian narrative – a first for the band. Featuring pre-album release singles “The Hypnogogue”, “C’est La Vie” and “No Other You,” the album offers a pool of melancholy tones and psychedelic swells, transporting listeners to another realm, guided by its striking science fiction narrative. Reading like a short story from visionary science fiction author Philip K. Dick (“A Scanner Darkly,” “Electric Dreams”), The Hypnogogue is a retro-futuristic, dystopian tale that revolves around a fictional machine (the “Hypnogogue”) that extracts music directly from subconscious dreams.
Overwhelmingly embraced by longtime fans and new fans alike, The Hypnogogue amassed a bottomless well of stellar reviews, expanding not only the fanbase for the band but boosting the band’s creativity as well. As fans embraced the new music and the new narrative, Steve Kilbey and band decided to further the storyline of the Hypnogogue by returning to the studio to add additional tracks for a deluxe edition of The Hypnogogue to be released this Fall. While the digital companion to the album will be available worldwide on DSPs, a special physical deluxe edition will be available to purchase as a standalone physical format at merch on the upcoming U.S. dates.
Starting in 1980, The Church continued expanding their highly cinematic and atmospheric blend of indie rock, shimmering post-punk, icy dreampop and psychedelic post-rock without retreading their steps. Beginning with classic early albums ‘Of Skins and Heart’, ‘The Blurred Crusade’, ‘Heyday’ and ‘Starfish’. ‘Starfish’ was the 1988 album that broke into the mainstream and gave The Church the international hit ‘Under the Milky Way’. The hit single has been regarded as one of the most influential and recognizable Australian rock anthems of all time.
The renowned five-piece line-up is made up of bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey along with long- time collaborator, drummer and producer Tim Powles, who’s remained a staple across 17 albums since 1994. Joining them is guitarist Ian Haug, who has been strumming with the band since 2013 and formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger. Touring multi-instrumentalist talent Jeffrey Cain is now a full-time member since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. Rounding out the members is the newly recruited Ashley Naylor is one of Australia’s finest guitarists and is a long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band. Entering their fourth decade as a band, The Church continue to remain a treasured creative force.
