The Church - C or D/S&D/CB&TT

Have you listened to Further/Deeper? Absolutely brilliant - to my mind, the equal of any of their earlier peaks.

Wow, Manchild & Myth is wonderful

their last three albums are as good as anything they've ever recorded, definitely better than the 2000-2008 era stuff (which I like too!)

Wow, Manchild & Myth is wonderful

― Mule, Tuesday, January 22, 2019 7:26 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i'm surprised i'd never heard of it, songs production everything is so gorgeous
...early Ryko stuff is pretty much a guaranteed buy for me because it comes around so rarely and they were a weird label then

Never heard of it myself, so thanks for digging it up. Really like that warm, drugged out feel. It’s sort of dated in the production, channeling (as you point out, I’d add baggy though) lots of stuff going on at the time, but still sounds kinda timeless nontheless. Been playing it alot off of YouTube last couple of days

Coming back in April and May: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-church-announce-more-starfish-tour-dates/

Kinda like how they're looping around the Bay Area this time to play smaller shows in various spots.

I kinda hit burnout after seeing SK solo at a backyard show right here in Sierra Madre last April but I'm tempted to go to that Pappy & Harriets show. The band sounds tremendous.

Kilbey's Sydney Rococo is worth a listen, with some fine tracks like the below. Also, the Kilbey / Kennedy albums are worth pursuing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kI7C6zCnGQ

Also, the Kilbey / Kennedy albums are worth pursuing.

Seconding/thirding these. SK's songwriting caught a third/fourth wind when he had this outlet to work on. Check 'em out: https://kilbeykennedy.bandcamp.com

Couple of days ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RuJK6XVHMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCQ_hi47x3g

But that appears to be the final bow for Pete:

https://m.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/story.php?story_fbid=10156557066421046&id=20594731045&ref=m_notif¬if_t=feedback_reaction_generic

Surprised and unsurprised that SK would continue on with none of the other originals. Altho of course Powles is a way more durable member than Ploog was.

Yeah, if Powles wasn't still there I'd be looking at all this really askance. Though I do know Jeffrey Cain, and he's a good sort.

What's at Ned's link?

Surprised and unsurprised that SK would continue on with none of the other originals. Altho of course Powles is a way more durable member than Ploog was.

Richard wasn't a founding member! Nick Ward was the drummer on Of Skins and Heart.

What's at Ned's link?

A statement from SK to the effect that Peter is done with The Church. (Presumably for good this time.) This... does not bode well, I would think. They rebounded after MWP's estrangement to make a superb album that retained all the qualities that I most love in The Church, but losing PK too means that they're inevitably going to become a different musical proposition. This isn't a "me and yer granny on bongos" situation.

Really glad I saw em in Ithaca when they came through last year. I was amazed at how great a show it was. They played forever and the crowd was with them the whole way. Sorry to see Koppes go. He was the backbone of the band no doubt.

Well, of course there was that period in the 90s when it was just Steve and Marty. And a slap on the wrist for me forgetting Nick Ward.
I guess my main reservation is that altho the Church were always a benign dictatorship, SK has increasingly leaned into the role of rock legend / elder statesman in the last decade. The self aggrandising statements feel a little less ironic these days.

(Presumably for good this time.)

Ah, as long as the band exists, I wouldn't rule out anyone returning, given the fluctuations of the '90s.

I see Ash Naylor is being brought in to replace him though - seems Kilbey has a project to incorporate all the flattest-haired Australian guitarists of those '90s as positions become available.

I just did a search for him on Google Image Search and indeed, he would fit in nicely on the ILM "swagger of Oasis" thread.

as long as the band exists

Even more likely: a farewell or retirement-fund tour with MWP and Koppes at some point while everyone's still healthy

Naylor is a great player and super low key in a similar vein to Koppes, I must admit

Steve just posted something now re some of the comments of the past few days:

https://www.facebook.com/thechurchband/photos/a.10151876536906046/10156570000881046/

People questioning my integrity and my right to call my band the church should bear in mind that I wrote approx 90 per cent of all guitar parts on first 4 albums other than the actual solos. Seance is virtually a solo album as far as the writing of it. I have never been merely the bass player.

It's a shame both that artists being so close to pissy audience comments these days make him feel he needs to make any response, and also that he went for such a petty, reaching defence. This is throwing the last 20+ albums & mini-albums under the bus, and also the contributions of the recent and future guitarists. Presumably not his intention!

He's never hesitated to use other names for other music. Bummer if there's actual acrimony, not just fed-up-ness, with Koppes, but it's not hard to trust that future music with Kilbey's main Church collaborator of the last 25 years and a lead guitarist who's been in the band for six years will be Church-ish.

I'd guess that calling an album a Church album instantly means more sales and the ability to plan a tour with larger venues, and have a shot at actually making some money, regardless of who plays on it or what it sounds like.

i looked up MWP after the last revive and wondered if anyone has seen his new act w his new wife? i thought she was his daughter until i read a little more about the project :-/

i wish steve kilbey would do another album in the earthed/unearthed style, maybe re-earthed? de-earthed?

should we pitch in and buy LL a one-hour Skype guitar lesson with MWP for £35

lololol irl lols here
maybe i will do it over the summer. i'm sure someone would let me borrow their guitar. he can teach me the basics as i know nothing about playing guitar :)

i didn't realize he was still at it!

maybe you could give him a one-hour drumming lesson?

No I would prefer to learn guitar. I teach for a living, I’m not paying him to get a drum lesson! :)

i wish steve kilbey would do another album in the earthed/unearthed style, maybe re-earthed? de-earthed?

A few of the Kilbey-Kennedy albums might fit here? They're all pretty good.

Reading between all the lines, I had a feeling Peter was going to split after the last tour.

I would happily pay £35 to hear about LL's impressions of Skype-MWP!

MWP has a new band too - Atlantæum Flood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b06eo3BGIU

Sounds kinda like a Greg Dulli b-side on mogadon.

Livestream moment of the week - Kilbey and George Ellis play "Aura"

https://youtu.be/87E7Zxs6pww?t=3180

Someone told me that Steve Kilbey's at home concerts these past few weeks have been a joy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVUE6KbEBTs

Good interview with Peter here - gets into his final days with the band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juVh2xtX67A

Great find, ET, thank you

best kilbey work in many a year imo https://kilbeykennedy.bandcamp.com/album/jupiter-13

Sounds good!

God, his solo catalog is massive. Could go for a guide or best-of or playlist.

I still rep for Unearthed and The Slow Crack. Narcosis is pretty excellent too, but I lost track sometime in the early 00s.

I gotta break out Unearthed some time soon. Loved it.

Yes I loved that album! Earthed isn't bad but it's no Unearthed! "Judgement Day" is my favorite song featuring a drum machine. It was a mixtape staple back in the day because I didn't know anyone diehard enough to have solo Kilbey albums and it's such a good song :)

Hard to believe it's contemporaneous with Starfish, the yin to that album's yang. "Nothing Inside" could have been a Church single I think, but "Othertime" might be the loveliest song he's written.

I'll take this opportunity to strongly recommend Peter Koppes' latest project, Syncretism. The vocals and lead guitar are by Dave Scotland, who he first worked with in Baby Grande, SK's band prior to the formation of The Church!

Ha, wow, there's some continuity!

More kilbey songs need drum machines, IMO.

you're gonna *love* Remindlessness then