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

Unearthed is superb, a shamefully overlooked record.

All guitars in heaven sound like that.

See the mystery of personal tastes.
I didn't like that much _Hologram_, while _After Everything_ sounded to me like a kind of resurrection...anyway, the Church = great.

http://homepage.mac.com/fipster/church/sleeves/albums/back-with-two-beasts.jpg

And HFS is it good. I can imagine the conversation in the studio when they were putting this together...

Willson-Piper: "Remember when we used to make those songs with all the 12-strings and chiming sounds"
Kilbey (wistfully): "Good times but what rubbish though"
W-P: "Think we can do it again?"
K: "I dare you to play that way. What do you say Pete?"
Koppes (via guitar feedback): SCREECH! PLONK! CRASH!

*half of album is recorded*

All: "arrgh, sod all this! Where's that Sonic Youth album?"

*band records 20 minute song*

K: "OK, can we get on with our REAL album now?"

It was released late last year.

So, this improv album and "Block" for my shopping. I can't complain.

Come to my Church band Multimedia website
http://www.violettown.com

We are keeping up with all the media out there, read some reviews

We have MP3 samplers for you to hear as well as
a Podcast and many other great essential tidbits a site for the Church
would have to house.

So come all ye faithful
http://www.violettown.com

The Church - Uninvited, Like the Clouds

P.S.: So long as I'm documenting hilarious lines from "Terra Nova Cain" that dude actually tries to sell all serious-like, this is the second best:

She said, "Will you help with our research?"
I said, "Take me to your leader."
She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal.
She was a ... transdimensional speeder.

Mostly because of that INCREDIBLY CAMP PAUSE denoted by the ellipses. "She was a ... (get this) ... transdimensional speed-ah."

Deep in space where disconnexion began
Luxurious space
Vague architechture has infested in the city
moss obelisk ... a green needle

TERRA NOVA CAIN ... I need you again (etc.)

Fantastic fantastic show!

"The barbarians picked through the ashes of the dome
Then went on their way, yeah, continued to roam"

It's all about the "yeah" in there. Years later, I found out that Kilbey wrote this about Zardoz

Also I give them bonus points because one of the band member's daughters are pretty hot music chix.

http://www.myspace.com/brightredband

Anyway, you guys need to help me. I only know the albums up to and including Heyday. Tell me a little about each one from Starfish until now, so that I can figure out what to look out for next. Any clunkers to avoid

The lush pillow-of-Rickenbackers side of them is great, but I'm especially liking the bigger, raunchier, riffy stuff like Life Speeds Up. Did they leave this sort of stuff behind? I read in Wiki that there is ambient-type stuff in the catalogue later. Not sure I'll like that.

Destroy Sometime Anywhere.

A good chunk of the more recent material has a tendency to wander (and turn into the occasional trippy jam), so if that's not really your thing you might want to carefully pick and choose your 21st century Church albums. The one released this year, Uninvited Like the Clouds, is the main exception to the new rule as it's the most straight ahead pop-rock album they've made since Gold Afternoon Fix.

Every album has something to recommend it, though I'm not as big a fan of their trippy jam songs compared to their straightforward pop tunes. The recent albums are more liked for highlights ("Come Down", "Lady Boy" on Magician Among the Spirits, for example) than the album as a whole. Unlike the albums up through Priest=Aura, which work as a single listen.

I haven't heard "Uninvited..." yet, but with the descriptions above, it's now on my list.

That's a solid seal of approval alright. None more solid.

Yes, I'm looking for pop choons rather than trippy jams.

So : Gold Afternoon Fix, Uninvited, Priest=Aura. What was the covers album - I saw a tracklisting and it sounded interesting, do they pull it off?

Dr C., in all the hoopla/discussion of the later albums, I realized I'd left out the most important suggestion. Starfish is by all means essential. It's one of my favorite records of all time, by anybody!

what does that mean??

Starfish is that rarest of things -- band with its own aesthetic slams into American major label world/LA studio hierarchy and *everything* works.

I wouldn't destroy it either, but it does need some serious editing. You can make a strong album out of it if you distill it down with the bonus disc. If anything, just grab "Dead Of The Dead."

I'll also speak up for Hologram Of Baal and After Everything, Now This. They're aren't as strong albumwise as the other ones suggested here (and Great Cthulhu man, get P=A right now!), but contain some of my favorite songs, especially "Louisiana" and the awesome awesome "Numbers."