| Monday, January 4th 2010 - 12:17:28 AM | |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source: | Corin Ashley, The Big Takeover |
| Review or Comment: | Over a long and storied career with Australia's legendary The Church, Willson-Piper has played the perfect foil to Steve Kilbey's understated persona: killer haircut, thrashing at Rickenbackers, throwing rock star shapes. Lesser known, though, are his excellent solo albums. Starting with a pair of highly regarded, late '80s home-recorded efforts and continuing through the present, he has featured his highly melodic songwriting (he was born in Liverpool, after all), trademark 12-string guitars, and austere production style. With reviews hailing Nightjar as his finest, we find our hero in his mid 50s, more hirsute but still bright-eyed and clear of voice and vision. There are simply lovely songs, mostly acoustic, and accompanied by sympathetic string arrangements and sweet vocal harmonies. |
| Monday, January 4th 2010 - 12:07:52 AM | |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source: | Michael Toland, The Big Takeover (4 March 2009) |
| Review or Comment: | Though best known as one of the axe-slingers for the great Australian band The Church, tenures with The Saints and All About Eve and his ongoing side project Noctorum, Marty Willson-Piper has quietly but firmly established an enchanting solo career. Produced by his Noctorum bandmate Dare Mason, Nightjar is Willson-Piper's sixth album, and it's a low-key gem. Taking the role of romantic-but-philosophical troubadour, Willson-Piper carefully weaves acoustic and electric guitars into a gauzy web of acid-washed folk rock, singing in a woodgrain croon. "Songs For Victor Jara" and "I Must Have Fallen" quietly flow like water in a tranquil lake, while "Feed Your Mind" and "A Game For Losers" add some country pep without waking the neighbors. "High Down Below" and "The Sniper" build up heads of rock steam, but the auteur mostly keeps the tracks on the gentle side, with little of his primary band's penchant for vibrant drama. Aided by subtle rhythm, piano and, on the wistful ballad "The Love You Never Had," pedal steel, Willson-Piper casts a gently graceful spell on Nightjar that lingers like the smell of a scented candle. |
| Thursday, March 19th 2009 - 04:55:14 AM | |
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source: | Jarret Keene - www.tucsonweekly.com |
| Review or Comment: | Australia's The Church, with its 1988 cosmic masterpiece Starfish and Top 40 single "Under the Milky Way," stands among the best alt-rock bands. The rich interplay between guitarists Peter Koppes (the "technical" one) and Marty Willson-Piper (the band's emotional core) served The Church well over several unappreciated albums (Gold Afternoon Fix, Priest=Aura). But what of singer/bassist Steve Kilbey, whose existential, sci-fi-tinged lyrics offered so much pleasure? At 54, does he still wield magic?
Painkiller suggests he does. For those who love The Church's majestic pop, Kilbey's first solo effort in five years satisfies. "Wolfe," all symphonic edges, reminds us just how textured Kilbey's band could be. Whether you enjoy it with midnight headphones or during rush hour, Painkiller tastes sweeter than a strawberry-flavored codeine trip. Willson-Piper, meanwhile, offers his own solo effort following a nine-year studio hiatus. Cracking the lid on Nightjar reveals timeless, guitar-centered popcraft, always evident on Church albums. Ballads like "No One There" shimmer in the brightness of 12-string guitars, even while Willson-Piper draws upon grittier folk and country influences on tracks like "A Game for Losers." With a new Church CD due later this year, Kilbey and Willson-Piper offer excellent appetizers that shouldn't be passed over for the main course. |
