Album of the Week - Vol. 23

Priest=Aura THE CHURCH (1992)
Week: Sat 22nd to Fri 28th October 2022 
Format: vinyl, CD and Spotify
Producer: The Church and Gavin McKillop
Track listing:
1. Aura *
2. Ripple *
3. Paradox
4. Lustre
5. Swan Lake *
6. Feel
7. Mistress
8. Kings *
9. Dome
10. Witch Hunt
11. The Disillusionist *
12. Old Flame
13. Chaos
14. Film *
BONUS:
15. Nightmare (not on vinyl)
16. Fog (not on vinyl)
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 1hr 12min

The Church's eight studio album is seen by many as the band's artistic highpoint, including frontman Steve Kilbey. I heard him on a radio interview years ago (possibly with Richard Fidler on the ABC?) refer to this record as their best album; and he calls it the group's 'undisputed masterpiece' in his autobiography, Something Quite Peculiar. The band underwent a 30th anniversary tour in 2011 dubbed "Future, Past, Perfect" which saw them play 2009's Untitled #23, 1988's Starfish and this album in their entireties. The latter being the 'perfect' component of the three album tour. 

Celebrating its 30th anniversary itself this year, Priest=Aura is quite a listen. While it's not a concept album per se, it has a cohesion that is lacking from their other long players, except for maybe Starfish. I've dabbled with The Church from time to time over the last few years, and I only own four of their albums, this being one of them. In fact, I have the 2011 remaster on CD and the coloured vinyl reissue. I've seen them live three times and each time they've had a different line-up. 

The first time was part of A Day on the Green show in December 2012 that also featured Models, Devo and Simple Minds. It was pretty damn great, and we have a CD of the Devo set! Very cool. Far out, that was nearly ten years ago! The band consisted of bassist/singer Kilbey, guitarists Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper and drummer Tim Powles. They only performed a short eight-song set, including crowd pleasers Metropolis, Almost With You and Under the Milky Way, but interestingly, nothing from this album. 

Just under five years later, Rhona and I ventured douth to see them play at the Dunsborough Tavern in November 2017, touring their new album Man Woman Life Death Infinity. Again, nothing from this album was on the setlist. Willson-Piper abruptly left the band a couple of years earlier, and had been replaced by Ian Haug, who used to be in Powderfinger. Move forward another five years, and in October this year, our boy Lachlan and I caught them at the Astor Theatre in Mt Lawley. At this juncture, Koppes had left The Church for the second time, with Ash Naylor (Even, The Stems) taking his place. A third guitarist (and sometime keyboardist) Jeffrey Cain from Alabama, USA had also joined the line-up. In addition to that, a second drummer in the form of Nick Meredith was also thrown into the mix; and the band did sound immense on that night. 

This time around, they did play something from Priest=Aura: Kings. That was the only offering though, but it was pretty awesome, and really benefited from the extra drummer. Their rendition of You Took, from 1982's The Blurred Crusade was a big highlight for Lachlan and me, he not even having heard it before. But I digress!

Back to the album in question. I've been listening to it a bit this week after reading those very words Kilbey wrote in his book; which I bought a copy of at the Astor (signed by him too, no less). It's a great album, for sure, but I haven't really grasped what makes Kilbey so fond of it. One thing that makes Priest=Aura stand out from The Church's back catalog is the appearance of the wonderful Jay Dee Daugherty on the drums. His attack and style are so distinctive, that you can always pick a cut from this record. He came into the band's orbit after The Church's drummer of nearly ten years, Richard Ploog, became increasingly difficult to work with. His final album with the group, 1990's Gold Afternoon Fix, saw him play on only four tracks, while the rest of the songs utilised programming. 

Daugherty had previously been in the Patti Smith Group, and his presence on this record seems to lift the band out of their post-GAF doldrums. Very much a collaborative effort, each of the album's tracks are credited to Kilbey/Koppes/Willson-Piper/Daugherty, except for Mistress. All of the songs are simply titled as well, often using just one word. The opening track, Aura, sets the scene well. We are introduced to a fairly dreamy landscape, courtesy of some ethereal keyboards before Daugherty's snare cracks the band into life. Indeed, the interplay between guitarists Koppes and Willson-Piper as arguably never been better. Another reason for the album's distinctive sound is Kilbey's notion of using a 1960s Fender VI six-string bass guitar on every track.

That first track unsurprisingly includes the album's title in its lyrics, stemming from Kilbey misreading a Spanish translation of priest as 'aura' (and not 'cura') in a Spanish fan's English notes. The end section of song gives way to some great lyrical comparitives:

And life = time

And time = space

And space = sublime

And human = race

Oh and woman = man

And pot = pan

The fauna ought to equal the flora

But priest = aura

The next track, Ripple, is another highlight for me, with a great melodic refrain that will get stuck in your head, if you're not careful. Paradox is a meditation on Kilbey's slowly blooming heroin addiction, as he ways up the good and the bad. He would be a slave to the drug for over a decade, before starting the 21st century clean. 

Other big highlights for me include the aforementioned Kings and the gentle Swan Lake, the latter detailing Kilbey's feelings about his soon-to-be-born twin girls. Another favourite for me is the eerie tale of The Disillusionist, which features an amazing octave hopping bassline and a baffling chorus:

They say that he's famous from the waist down

But the top half of his body is a corpse

His gold won't buy him sleep

His poverty runs so deep

In winter he cracks, in summer he warps

My biggest pet peeve with recorded music almost ruins this track, as it fades out while Kilbey is still singing!! I don't know if this was done to save on running time, or if the band came to a crashing heap towards the song's end, but it is a puzzling choice! Even more frustrating to me, is that the performance of The Disillusionist on the excellent A Psychedelic Symphony concert at the Sydney Opera House in 2011 keeps going past that fade-out point! In fact, the band (and orchestra) start to peter out until it's just Kilbey reciting the lyrics a cappela. So, that's a weird ending as well. Could they not decide on a way to finish the song?! Anyway, I still love the song, despite this. 

The best and worst of this album happen in the last two tracks. The sprawling Chaos nudges the ten minute mark in length, and has several false stops. Although the bass riff the song is built around is quite cool, it does get a little monotonous after a while. The battle between the guitarists for who can make the most noise gets very grating too. After the sonic assault of this track dies off, your ears get treated to the wonderful instrumental Film. A lovely ending to the record, this feels like music that would run as the credits of a noir thriller roll. No doubt, a big reason why the track is titled as such.

The two bonus tracks on the CD are okay, but they don't seem to fit nicely with the rest of the album, particularly Nightmare. It sounds like a good fit, but the lyrics are too playful or something. Just doesn't belong, although it's an interesting listen. 

Like I said at the start of this post, I don't think this is my favourite album by The Church, but it's pretty damn great. It has been very interesting to listen to it in different formats. Having headphones on and streaming it while walking is very enjoyable. I do love listening to an album on vinyl when you have to change sides so often (it's a two platter offering). The songs get a chance to breathe and sink in before you listen to the next section. I like that. It's also nice to do the opposite and have the CD assault you continuously. He he he... it's all good!

A Stay at The Church II

We traveled down to Dunsborough last weekend to watch The Church play at the Dunsborough Tavern! Last time we journeyed down that way to catch a show was for Josh Pyke in July last year. It was cool to venture out of Perth and see him play somewhere different. 

As The Church were playing The Rosemount in Perth on a Friday night I already had a gig on, heading to Dunsborough on a Saturday I (eventually) had free seemed like the way to go. Rhones and I love our roadtrips and quick breaks too. We booked into a little B&B and headed down to the pub around 8:30pm.

Unusually, there wasn't another act playing earlier. We got the skinny from friend of ours who had provided the audio gear; the band's roadie held up an iPhone and announced it as the support act, he he he. Anyway, The Church took to the stage just after 9pm. They started playing right in the middle of a transaction I was making for a tour T-shirt, in fact.

The Church live at Dunsborough Tavern, 18th Nov 2017

Now, I had been following their setlists from previous shows, and was hoping for something a little different from their recent US tour. Checking out reviews of their Adelaide and Perth gigs revealed that they were using the setlist I got from South by Southwest as a guide. So, it was pretty similar, which isn't a bad thing really, as I knew what to expect. I'd listened to each song from the SxSW show and had become fairly familiar with it all. One track I'd become quite fond of, Aura, kicked off the SxSW gig (and 1992's Priest=Aura album), so when they took to the stage with Myrrh (from 1985's Heyday) I felt a little dismayed.

That dismay dissipated pretty quickly as I got caught up in the night's opening song choice and felt the awe of seeing bassist/lead singer Steve Kilbey, guitarist Peter Koppes, drummer Tim Powles and ex-Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug. Jeffrey Cain (ex-Remy Zero) provided additional guitar and keyboard throughout the evening. Their roadie/guitar tech Ross Molloy even took on bass duties during Undersea from their wonderful new album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity, so that Kilbey could unleash his theatrical front man for a spell.

As Myrrh gave way to Toy Head (from 2014's Further/Deeper - the first Church album to feature Haug) I was getting quite a sensory buzz from the sights and sounds of one of Australia's longest running bands. As they approach their fourth decade together, they are focused on moving forward. Close to half of the songs performed on the night were taken from their last two albums. 

While they are selling out venues all over the country, the crowd at the Dunsborough Tavern was fairly modest, probably being about half full. There were some hardcore fans there sporting old tour t-shirts, but most were casual listeners who were there to hear Metropolis, Under the Milky Way and The Unguarded Moment (which they got); the latter still a big favourite of mine, despite the chagrin it causes Kilbey. 

There was a decent smattering of their back catalogue, but if it wasn't for the glorious Day 5 (from 2006's Uninvited, Like The Clouds), there would have been nothing between the years of 1990 and 2014. Day 5 has become a big favourite of mine over the last few weeks, and they dragged the song out to include Kilbey riffing on the Beatles' Within You Without You which fit in brilliantly! I was very surprised that they didn't perform anything from 1982's classic album The Blurred Crusade, fan fave Priest=Aura or the much lauded Untitled #23 from 2009.

I was pretty entranced for the entire evening, and marveled at how good they sounded. This is certainly not a band that are winding up, and I'm hopeful for what they'll be delivering in future years. I hope they attempt another tour akin to the one-off show at the Sydney Opera House in 2011, A Psychedelic Symphony. Or another tour consisting of albums performed in their entirety a la 2015's Further/Deeper and The Blurred Crusade tour. Or a revisit on the theme of the Future Past Perfect tour, wherein they played the Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish albums. I'm very keen to see what new music they will release too.

Anyway, here's the setlist from the night, with my five fave moments highlighted...

Myrrh (1985 - Heyday) *

Toy Head (2014 - Further/Deeper)

Metropolis (1990 - Gold Afternoon Fix) *

Another Century (2017 - Man Woman Life Death Infinity) *

Delirious (2014 - Further/Deeper)

Fly (1983 - Seance) 

North, South, East and West (1987 - Starfish)

Day 5 (2006 - Uninvited, Like The Clouds) *

Constant in Opal (1984 - Persia EP)

Undersea (2017 - Man Woman Life Death Infinity)

I Don't Know How I Don't Know Why (2017 - Man Woman Life Death Infinity)

Tantalized (1985 - Heyday)

Under the Milky Way (1987 - Starfish)

Reptile (1987 - Starfish)

Encore:

The Unguarded Moment (1981 - Of Skins & Hearts) *

Miami (2014 - Further/Deeper)

A Stay at The Church

The Church have been around for as long as I can remember. Well, not that long, I guess. Their first hit single The Unguarded Moment (their second single release) was released in March 1981, but I don't think I ever really paid attention to them until after their fifth album, 1988's Starfish. 

When the lead single from that album, Under The Milky Way, came out I was in Year 7 and living in Albany. Watching RAGE on a Saturday morning was a regular ritual for me, and so was listening to Take 40 Australia on the radio with Barry Bissell. I remember the video clip, but I wasn't too enamoured with the song. It wasn't the usual catchy Beatlesque pop radio fodder I preferred at the time. Their compilation album Hindsight 1980-1987 had also been released around the same time, and after Under The Milky Way was played on Take 40 one week, Barry mentioned it. He aired a snippet of The Unguarded Moment, which I liked immediately. It sounded vaguely familiar as well, so I must have heard it when I was a younger. Possibly on the radio, which was the style at the time. During another Take 40 broadcast, Barry played the next single from the Starfish album, Reptile, which I kinda liked. 

The first major impact The Church had on me was Metropolis, from their next album Gold Afternoon Fix, which was released in 1990. I really fell for the song in a big way after seeing the film clip. I even bought it on cassingle! Remember them? Cassingle is short for cassette single, if you're too young to know (that might not be enough of an explanation).

Anyway, I was aware of who The Church were for many years, but never really delved into their music too deeply. While I was working at Southern Sound, a music store in Albany, during the mid nineties, I bought a CD compilation of theirs called Almost Yesterday 1981-1990. It was a fairly good overview of that time period and had everything on it that you'd expect. I don't think I listened to it in any great detail, but I was happy to have The Unguarded Moment and Metropolis on CD, if nothing else. Over the years I came to appreciate Under The Milky Way for the masterpiece that is, as well as other great songs of theirs like Almost With You, When You Were Mine and Into My Hands. 

Fast forward to December 2012 - Rhona and I attended a concert in Kings Park for the A Day on the Green series. On the bill were The Models, The Church, Devo and Simple Minds. We arrived just as The Models were finishing sadly, but we picked out a great spot and were ready for The Church to start. I was very impressed by their forty-minute, eight-song set, although they didn't play The Unguarded Moment. I was particularly taken by On Angel Street, and assumed that they had played other tracks from their 2009 album Untitled #23 as well. 

After the show I got hold of a copy of Untitled #23, but didn't recognise anything else from their show. I was keen to have a listen to it ever since I saw it got a five star review in Rolling Stone magazine. Anyway, I did warm to the rest of the album and discovered that they had played other numbers from a couple of their more recent efforts.

Move forward through time again to now(ish) and I found myself thinking of that set The Church played that day on the green in December 2012. After finding the list of songs they played on setlist.fm (which I may or may not have created) I made up a playlist on my iPod. Bizarrely, a few days later, The Church announce a new album and a tour! What perfect timing to be going down the rabbit hole!

So, I made myself a bit of a plan. The day the new album was released was also the day the tickets went on sale for the tour. I couldn't go to the Friday show at The Rosemount Hotel (Fri 17th Nov) because I had a gig at Rosie O'Grady's that night with the Wesleys. However, The Church were playing at the Dunsborough Tavern on the Saturday (18th Nov). I asked Rhones how she felt about taking a trip down south to see The Church and she was keen. Always up for a roadtrip, she. 

The day before the tickets went on sale, I was asked if I was available to do a gig in Darwin on Sat 18th Nov. Gah! I reluctantly agreed to do the gig if it came off. I hadn't lost all hope at seeing them though, as the gig was pretty tenuous, so I went to try and find a copy of The Church's new album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity. My search proved fruitless and I resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably be gigging in Darwin rather than going down to Dunsborough.

A coupla weeks later, the Darwin gig had been cancelled, and I'd managed to get a copy of Man Woman Life Death Infinity from JB's in Armadale. While the album is a grower, I'm really enjoying it. Rhones and I took the plunge and bought tickets to The Church gig at the Dunsborough Tavern too!

The timing of all this has been too perfect. How often do you start to develop a serious interest in a band or artist just they release a new album and announce a tour? I've been working my way through their old albums, paying particular attention to The Blurred Crusade and Starfish. I've listened to Almost Yesterday 1981-1990 a lot as well, getting familiar with those lesser played tracks. I found an article on the gig that The Church performed at South By Southwest in September this year, which included a detailed setlist. I made that up as an iPod playlist too! He he he... Sadly, they didn't include anything from The Blurred Crusade album in their set, but that may have been because they recently toured the record in its entirety.

I've been quite taken with Another Century from Man Woman Life Death Infinity and Day 5 off 2006's Uninvited, Like The Clouds album. I'm really excited by what they might play in Dunsborough, and I'm preparing myself by listening to a lot of their stuff. Quite a large rabbit hole to go down...MWLDI is their 25th album! Looking forward to seeing Ian Haug (ex-Powderfinger) in the line up too.

I'll close this off by naming five songs I REALLY hope they play:

1. The Unguarded Moment

2. You Took

3. Metropolis

4. Myrrh

5. On Angel Street

Oh, and Almost With You! And Day 5! And Reptile! Here's hoping, huh?