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The Static TimesExtra
The Church
Australian rock band
The Church are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave, neo-psychedelia, and indie rock, their music later came to feature slower tempos and surreal soundscapes reminiscent of alternative rock, dream pop, and post-rock.
Glenn A. Baker has written that "From the release of the 'She Never Said' single in November 1980, this unique Sydney-originated entity has purveyed a distinctive, ethereal, psychedelic-tinged sound which has alternatively found favour and disfavour in Australia." The Los Angeles Times has described the band's music as "dense, shimmering, exquisite guitar pop".
alternative rockjangle popneo-psychedeliaart rockdream poppost-punk
The Elsewhere GazetteExtra
1980–1981: Early days, Of Skins and Heart
Singer, songwriter, and bass guitarist Steve Kilbey first played with guitarist Peter Koppes in a band called Baby Grande in Canberra, Australia in the mid-1970s. After each had left to travel and play in other bands, including Tactics (Kilbey) and Limazine (Koppes), they met again in Sydney in March 1980 and formed the initial three-piece version of The Church, with Limazine drummer Nick Ward. The name was a shortened version of the original name proposed by Kilbey: "The Church of Man". A month later, Marty Willson-Piper, originally from Liverpool, United Kingdom, witnessed one of their gigs and met Kilbey afterwards. That same night he was invited to join the band on guitar, establishing the classic two-guitar formation.
Singer, songwriter, and bass guitarist Steve Kilbey first played with guitarist Peter Koppes in a glam rock band called Baby Grande in Canberra, in the mid-1970s. After each had left to travel and play in other bands, including Tactics (Kilbey) and Limazine (Koppes), they met again in Sydney in March 1980 and formed the initial three-piece version of The Church, with Limazine drummer Nick Ward. The name was a shortened version of the original name proposed by Kilbey: "The Church of Man". A month later, Marty Willson-Piper, originally from Liverpool, United Kingdom, witnessed one of their gigs and met Kilbey afterwards. That same night he was invited to join the band on guitar, establishing the classic two-guitar formation. (https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/search/label/Church)
Also known as: Church
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
The Church, the records, oldest first
Of Skins and Heart
1981 album
Too Fast for You
1981 ep
Sing-Songs
1982 ep
The Blurred Crusade
1982 album
Seance
1983 album
Persia
1984 ep
Remote Luxury
1984 ep
Heyday
1985 album
Starfish
1988 album
wanted
Gold Afternoon Fix
1990 album
wanted
Priest = Aura
1992 album
Somewhere Else
1994 album
Sometime Anywhere
1994 album
Magician Among the Spirits
1996 album
Hologram of Baal
1998 album
A Box of Birds
1999 album
After Everything Now This
2002 album
Parallel Universe
2002 album
Forget Yourself
2003 album
El momento descuidado
2004 album
Back With Two Beasts
2005 album
Uninvited, Like the Clouds
2006 album
El momento siguiente
2007 album
Untitled #23
2009 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Under the Milky Way" is a song by Australian alternative rock band the Church, released as a single on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow).
It peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, No. 24 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and No. 25 on the New Zealand Singles Chart; it also appeared in the Dutch Single Top 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, the song won Single of the Year.
Background
In 1987, the Church travelled to Los Angeles to record their fifth studio album, Starfish, and worked with producers Waddy Wachtel and Greg Ladanyi.
Composition
"Under the Milky Way" was written by Kilbey and Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow). Kilbey and Jansson had become friends in 1983 and lived together in Australia from 1986. Kilbey said, "I smoked a joint and started playing the piano and she came in the room and we just made it up." According to a press release issued with Starfish, the title is from an Amsterdam music and cultural venue, Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way"), which Kilbey used to frequent.
Release history
"Under the Milky Way" was released on 15 February 1988 in both 7" vinyl and 12" vinyl formats by Arista Records (internationally) and Mushroom Records (Australian region). The Church's fifth studio album, Starfish, was issued simultaneously with the single. In April the single was released in several formats worldwide including 7", double 7", 12", CD single, and compact cassette, using at least five different cover art designs. The 12" B-sides were "Musk" and "Warm Spell", whereas the 7" B-side was "Musk". Different Spanish versions added either "Anna Miranda" or "Perfect Child". The music video for the song featured on the Church's video compilation Goldfish (Jokes, Magic & Souvenirs).
"Metropolis" is a song by Australian alternative rock band the Church. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, Gold Afternoon Fix (1990), and the songwriting credits were given to all four members of the band.
The song topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 19 in Australia. A music video directed by David Hogan and produced by Chris O'Brien was made for the song.
Background and composition
Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey were all credited with writing the song. The lead guitar produced a quickly falling then softly ascending melody. A complicated web of guitar overdubs appears later in the song, and a soft, mandolin-sounding melody was added as an additional hook.
Release and reception
"Metropolis" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 11 on the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1990. In addition, it peaked at number 19 in Australia and number 41 in New Zealand. Critically, Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised "the almost desperate edge in Steve Kilbey's vocals" as a testament to the song's quality. Raggett added that the Church's "ear for a triumphant yet somehow downbeat ending [makes] this an underrated gem in the band's body of work."
"Reptile" is a song by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released as a single from their 1988 album Starfish, and the songwriting credits are given to all four members of the band.
Background and composition
Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey were all credited with writing the song. In the sleevenotes for the 2010 CD reissue of Starfish, Willson-Piper described the process; "sometimes a song can be mainly one person's idea augmented by everyone else. Other times a song really is the sum of the parts working magically together. This was the case with ‘Reptile’".
Reception
"Reptile" peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1988. The song was well received by critics upon its release. Ned Raggett of AllMusic compared it to "the sheer punch of Heyday's most frenetic moments with a slightly more restrained but still strong, smart performance." The chorus was "rushing", the guitars were "epic" and "melancholic", and the atmosphere was set by "a sudden mid-song slow dive bomb break, guitars howling down into the void."
