Add a review or comment
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source (if not you): | Jon Pareles, The New York Times (April 10, 1988) |
| Review or Comments: | The Church, formed in Sydney in 1980, is a guitar band that prefers subtlety to brute force, and it has slowly built an American cult following via college radio and assiduous record importers; only half of its albums have been released here. In most Church songs, Steve Kilbey sings ambiguous, imagistic lyrics in a gruff voice as the band's two guitarists, Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper, entwine riffs behind him.
Although the band is steeped in 1960's folk-rock and psychedelia, it sounds far less antique than most psychedelic-revival bands. The Church's current album, "Starfish" (Arista 6521 LP, cassette and CD), revolves around images of loss, absence and uncertainty - between lovers and between the singer and the universe. "Starfish" was co-produced by the band and two Los Angeles folk-pop mainstays, Greg Ladanyi and Waddy Wachtel, and it often sacrifices impact for clarity; compared to the sound of the Church on stage, the album is a letdown. Given a few chances, however, the songs and their circular guitar riffs insinuate themselves enough to keep a listener coming back. |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source (if not you): | SOUNDS [UK] 1988 |
| Review or Comments: | THE CHURCH 'Starfish' (Arista 208 895/CD) **** (4 stars)
The Church's music has always sounded partly submerged, its emotions buried alive in a fresh-faced backwash of guitars, leader Steve Kilbey's poetic lyrics and sleepy voice propping up the pretty dreamscape. 'Starfish' sees them bringing together their stylistic strands, resulting in a record with potential mass appeal. At times, as on 'Blood Money', it could be an REM/Dire Straits team-up. Elsewhere The Church prefer to be more elusive. Coltish melodies and an acoustic leaning underline the first side of 'Starfish'. A direction is established with the single 'Under The Milky Way', but it reveals itself slowly. Ghostly choruses reach out through the layers of guitar and the energy of the songs seems to reverse its flow, moving across your attention like a slow-motion wave that never actually splashes you. The spray is visible but not accessible. Smoother music than this is hard to imagine. 'Spark' opens the second side sharply. The Church have obviously decided to withhold their teeth until you've been lulled and when they do clamp down the effect is all the more unexpected. The teeth may not draw blood but then Kilbey's songwriting is not about attack but strategy. You begin to appreciate how ingeniously The Church have amalgamated their '60s inspirations and '80s realities. This is a style that doesn't have to look back to feel good, but the weight of history leans approvingly on it just the same. 'Starfish' is sure to provide Kilbey and co with substantial acclaim, to which they are wholly entitled for persevering with their ideas to create a really unique sound. - Ralph Traitor |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source (if not you): | Carlo Wolff |
| Review or Comments: | The Church's antecedents are the Byrds, Bowie and Pink Floyd, but the Australian band's guitar-charged sound is unique. Artful and phosphorescent, it's the result of eight years' work and startlingly sympathetic, original production by Los Angeles session veterans Waddy Wachtel and Greg Ladanyi. The Church is the brainchild of bassist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey: until "Starfish," this band's best was "The Church" (Capitol, 1982), which yeilded the gorgeous "The Unguarded Moment." The topics include space travel ("Destination," "Under The Milky Way"), the cost of love ("Blood Money" and "Hotel Womb"), and geography ("North, South, East and West," a lyrically muddled view of the West Coast, redeemed by the vaulting guitars of Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes). The Church's focus on texture has often come at the expense of variety. But this boasts such individual touches as Willson-Piper's driven vocals on the atypically animated "Spark" and guest David Lindley's mandolin on the nasty "Antenna." While the dominant mood is brooding and dark (the insistent "Reptile" is absolutely scary), the textural range is refreshing. |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source (if not you): | Andy Fyfe |
| Review or Comments: | **** (four stars)
The story of The Church is a funny old drama. Ever since they began people have been saying what a totally brilliant group they are now and how it's only a matter of time before they become a household name while at the same time not actually buying many of their records. So The Church apparently decided that it was time they wrote an album-full of songs with more of a chance at commercial success than their previous ones but also keeping their all-important "serious" image. Amazingly they have achieved exectly what they wanted with the oddly titled "Starfish". "Under The Milky Way" (complete with so-called "bagpipes" in the middle) aside, there are a number of sparkling pop tunes on "Starfish" i.e. every one of them. Only once do The Church "rock out" (as they say) which is on "Spark", and the others, for the most part, are more thoughtful, wistful warblings. All, of course, have the unmistakable (and often unfathomable) lyrical style The Church are well known for, so not surprisingly it occasionally sounds a mite pretentious, but the end result is a rather fantastic and cuddly album. |
| Name: | Richie |
| Review or Comments: | THE album.
My fave is Priest=Aura for what they achieved artistically with that album but one cannot deny Starfish. Destination opens the album with that multi-layered vocal that engrosses from the fist words. A truly brilliant song to hear live as well. Then, of course, there is the song that started them here in the U.S....Under the Milky Way. Brilliant piece of work that cannot be praised any more than it has. In fact, this works out to be one of my LEAST favorite tracks here due to the commercial appeal! NOT that there's anything wrong with the boys getting their due, but there is SO MUCH here to fall in love with that UTMW is surrounded by that bears repeated listening over it. Lost is probably one of the most beautiful ballads that The Church have ever recorded. Simply, breathy lyrics along with an enchanting guitar riff make this a standout track and one that gets heavy rotation with me. This song could have been the title track for the TV show "LOST" if only someone had the balls to get the rights and put The Church into the mainstream...it's just that damned good! (not that they would probably have done it anyway, but I love this song way too much to not want to hear every week on a major network :) Antenna is a waltz that makes me sing out loud with it every time I hear it. Ecstasy with sound here... Reptile is a rock masterpiece. A friend of mine used to play the riff when he was learning guitar. Since he was still learning, I would always say, "I know that sound from somewhere..." Once he finally got it down, I said "HEY!!!! That's REPTILE!" He said, "I know...I love this riff...my guitar teacher says this is required reading!" Then I played him the Church song and he was like, "That's the song???? WOW!!!!" It was a fun little moment :) Hotel Womb is probably the finest thing Mr. Steven Kilbey has ever written, which is just ONE reason why Starfish is such a superb outing. His lyric, "The mother of the storm has to roam the sky...searching for her child..." will give me shivers until the day I die... As will The Church, I am sure... |
| Name: | sebastian |
| Review or Comments: | jan pieter no seas posero si tegusta solamente un cancion no es necesario q te compre el disco |
| Name: | Tom |
| Review or Comments: | Starfish is often credited as the album that gained the Church much-needed commercial/critical success, re the single 'Under the Milky Way'. Lush as this song is,it doesn't really do justice to the simple, sophisticated pop treasure that is Starfish.
The opener, 'Destination' rumbles into ominous life with Steve murmuring about the secret life beneath suburbia. This sets the tone; no matter how the guitars shimmer and jangle under the studio sheen, there is always a sly darkness humming under the surface (Blood Money; New Season). Although on subsequent records the Church would leave the three minute pop song well alone, Starfish showed the world just how it should be done. |
| Name: | Stefano |
| Review or Comments: | Comprai quest'Album a "scatola chiusa" nel lontano 1988 soltanto dopo aver ascoltato il primo singolo "Under the Milky Way" e ne rimasi folgorato..........ormai LP è consumato.......e devo dire che nel corso degli anni costantemente ritorna nel mio lettore CD ed ogni volta sembra una nuova riscoperta.........adoro tutti i dischi dei "The Church", ma questo occupa decisamente un posto particolare nel mio cuore...............decisamente da avere!!!!!!!!!! |
| Name: | jan pieter |
| Review or Comments: | i only know the songs reptile, destination and under the milky way. but they are all in my all time favorite list. the sound is so beautiful! i have an acoustic version of under the milky way and that one is 10 times better then the normal version! the normal version has a kind of ugly fading effect and the acoustic version is so more pure and emotional!
and a good christmas..:) |