Australian alternative rock pioneers The Church are set to return with their 27th studio album Eros Zeta And The Perfumed Guitars
A companion album of sorts to their most recent, critically-hailed album The Hypnogogue (2023) – described, accurately, by Uncut as “exquisite shimmering psychedelia” – Eros Zeta was previously only available at the merch table on their Australian and US tour last Autumn. Over the course of fifteen tracks, it serves as a continuation of the dystopian storyline. Picking up the loose narrative thread of a failed rockstar (Eros Zeta) trying to reclaim his faded glory through the use of a dream extractor, ‘The Hypnogogue’.
The album’s just released second single ‘A Strange Past’ follows the initial single ‘Realm Of Minor Angels’, released last September. Says Church founder/vocalist/bassist Steve Kilbey enigmatically of the track, “A foolish man who needs to wise up looks back in regretful nostalgia upon a fling he should’ve flung away. The musical genesis of this piece was a while ago via [guitarist ] Jeffrey Cain, but when the Hypnogogue reared its dystopian but not ugly head we felt ‘A Strange Past’ had found its true home.”
A companion book, Eros Zeta and The Hypnogogue, written by Kilbey in his lyrical and elegant prose, expanding the universe that he created with these two albums, is now available wherever eBooks are sold.
Formed in Sydney in 1980, The Church found early chart success in their homeland, before establishing themselves as an international touring entity, earning a worldwide hit with the single ‘Under The Milky Way’ from their hit 1988 album Starfish, while their stellar live shows have been deemed ‘spectacular’ by MAGNET magazine and continue to win the hearts of industry and fans across the world.
Often seen as the Godfathers of an Australian psych/prog scene generating such internationally successful names as Tame Impala and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, The Church have gone on to maintain a loyal and far-reaching following as their fanbase has expanded with their evolving sound.
The Church recently launched an online fan community, nightfriends. Named after a song of the same name from their 2002 album After Everything Now This, nightfriends will be a members-only club where the band will interact with fans which will feature never-before-seen live show/videos, monthly announcements of previously unreleased tracks, acoustic versions, live versions, demos, etc. Members will receive an exclusive shirt and have access to journal entries from Steve and the band, access to tour presales first, live chats, and more. Register here: https://thechorus.com/thechurch
The band have just announced a full US tour with contemporaries the Afghan Whigs for Summer 2024. For full tourdates go to https://www.thechurchband.com/
Easy Action will also be releasing Premonition K, the new album from Kilbey-Kennedy – a collaboration between Steve Kilbey and Melbourne musician Martin Kennedy.
As part of their long-running Steve Kilbey reissue campaign, this summer Easy Action will be issuing Bespoke Wheels & Winged Heels, a 20-track anthology of solo an collaborative recordings dating from 1987 to the present day.
*Pic by Hugh Stewart
All product available from https://easyaction.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/thechurchband
https://www.instagram.com/the_church_band
