Monday, July 10, 2023

The Church announce second North American Leg of "The Hypnogogue" Tour

Very exciting news that The Church is coming back to North America this fall and will be performing in a number of venues across the country. Here is the media release that was issued earlier today...Robert Kinsler


The Church / Photo credit: Hugh Stewart


"There’s a warm intimacy to this trippy, low-key affair that invites you to trance out into contemplative bliss. Elements of the goth, new wave, and space rock worlds that intermingled when they started still coalesce here ('Antarctica' is a standout). Given the throwback vibes of so many modern tunes, The Hypnogogue works equally well as retro and timeless music." - A.V Club

"On The Hypnogogue, the quintet creates fluid moods, moving in idiosyncratic directions while maintaining the shadowy gaze that has defined The Church’s style." - American Songwriter


"The Church’s usual melodic, psychedelic sound takes a stark turn into a concept album about a sci-fi dystopia, perfectly suited for singer Steve Kilbey’s plaintive voice." - Post-Punk.com
 


THE CHURCH
ANNOUNCES SECOND LEG TO
THE HYPNOGOGUE TOUR

 26th STUDIO ALBUM CONTINUES
TO GENERATE GLOWING REVIEWS

DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION TO BE RELEASED THIS FALL!

JULY 10, 2023 (Melbourne, AU) – “Not in my wildest dreams did I expect all the love that has been thrown at this record by the audiences and the critics,” says STEVE KILBEY, the bassist, vocalist and founder of seminal psych-guitar masters THE CHURCH. Beaming over the overwhelmingly positive reaction to their 26th album The Hypnogogue, Kilbey and the band have announced a second leg to their North American tour in support of that album. “I’m excited to play a whole bunch of new places and take this incredible version of The Church to wherever folks want to hear us.”

Kicking off on September 28th at Seattle, WA’s Neptune Theater, this live journey finds the band circling the continent, including shows in SoCal, New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, and Illinois. The Church will also be offering a limited number of VIP packages on this tour, which will include a show ticket, early venue access, an invitation to the band’s soundcheck, a special meet & greet with the band, exclusive merch items, and watching a portion of the show itself from the side of the stage (where available). “I feel like a heavyweight fighter getting into the ring, pretty confident that he is going to land a knockout punch,” he laughs. “The new songs are just going down so well, not to mention the other 40 odd years’ worth of music that all seems to fit so well blended in and rendered anew by my lovely talented cohorts!” (see full dates below.)

In addition to the tour, The Church will be releasing a digital deluxe edition of The Hypnogogue which will include additional songs not included on the original 13-track album. to be released this fall to coincide with the tour.  More info soon! 

The first thematic and narrative album in their career, The Hypnogogue (released February 24, 2023 via Communicating Vessels), found the band with arguably some of the best reviews in their 40-year history. A.V. Club lauded, “There’s a warm intimacy to this trippy, low-key affair that invites you to trance out into contemplative bliss. Elements of the goth, new wave, and space rock worlds that intermingled when they started still coalesce here… The Hypnogogue works equally well as retro and timeless music.” BrooklynVegan adds, “Forty some years into their existence, these Aussie psych legends are making some of the most vital music of their careers.” Under the Radar assures, “The Hypnogogue reaffirms why this band have been held in high esteem for so long.”
The Church "No Other You"
Link: https://youtu.be/vPzaJfykn70
While music fans and critics revere their studio catalog, their live shows are something to behold. Rolling Stone raves, “In full flight, Kilbey plays the bass with a power and intent once reserved for ascending Lancaster bomber pilots in WWII.” KCRW hosted a live session of the band, chiming, “The band’s unmistakable blend of lush atmospherics and diamond-edged rock ’n’ roll remains as intoxicating as ever.” The Big Takeover applauds the seamless flow of their sets as "a selection of captivating new songs honoring the band’s beloved sound while carrying it forward.”

The Hypnogogue has come to life on stage during our U.S. and Australian tours this year,” says Kilbey. “Every night we play, I understand more about what it is. I am so buoyed by the audience’s enthusiasm for the songs and stories behind the songs that I’m constantly reinventing and recalibrating the whole shebang!”

Starting in 1980, The Church continued expanding their highly cinematic and atmospheric blend of indie rock, shimmering post-punk, icy dreampop and psychedelic post-rock without retreading their steps. Their expansive music career yielded a string of hit songs, including “Under the Milky Way,” “Reptile,” “The Unguarded Moment” and “Almost With You” amongst others,and their equally stellar live shows have been deemed “spectacular” by MAGNET Magazine, citing their “dreamy psychedelia that will daub your evening with shades of paisley.” Their recent U.S. performance at 2022’s Cruel World Festival alongside Blondie, Bauhaus and Morrissey was heralded as “a subtle delight… that captivated the late afternoon audience” (Orange County Register), “providing the perfect soundtrack” (Rock Cellar Magazine).

Founded by bassist and vocalist Steve Kilbey, the line-up is rounded out with long-time collaborator Tim Powles, drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haugformerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain(Remy Zero), touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band has also recruited Ashley Naylor, a long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band and one of Australia’s finest and most respected guitarists (Even, The Grapes, The Stems).

“I’m most excited for anyone who hasn’t heard this record and also those who have as they feel all the love and work that goes into these songs coming  to life every night,” Kilbey concludes, reflecting on The Hypnogogue and its dystopian narrative within. “We constantly streamline and improve the music and as I go on explaining (to them and myself) the crazy and haphazard world of Eros Zeta and Sun Kim Jong [the album’s central characters] and the strange beast that is the Hypnogogue!”
TOUR DATES
 
Sep 28Seattle, WANeptune Theater
Oct 2Ventura, CAVentura Music Hall
Oct 4Pomona, CAThe Glass House
Oct 5Las Vegas, NVBrooklyn Bowl
Oct 6Chandler, AZThe Showroom at Wild Horse Pass
Oct 7Santa Fe, NMThe Lesnic
Oct 9Omaha, NEThe Waiting Room
Oct 11Ferndale, MIThe Magic Bag
Oct 12State College, PAState Theater
Oct 13Covington, KYMadison Theatre
Oct 14Atlanta, GAVariety Playhouse
Oct 15Birmingham, ALSaturn
Oct 17Ponte Vedra, FLPonte Vedra Concert Hall
Oct 18Orlando, FLThe Abbey
Oct 19Clearwater, FLCapitol Theatre
Oct 20Fort Lauderdale, FLCulture Room
Oct 21Fort Lauderdale, FLCulture Room
Oct 23Pensacola, FLVinyl Music Room
Oct 24New Orleans, LAHouse of Blues
Oct 26Austin, TXLevitation Festival
Oct 27Houston, TXHeights Theater
Oct 28Dallas, TXKessler Theater
Oct 29Oklahoma City, OKTower Theater
Oct 31Evanston, ILSPACE
Nov 1Evanston, ILSPACE

THE HYPNOGOGUE album art 

  1. Ascendence
  2. C'est La Vie
  3. I Think I Knew
  4. Flickering Lights
  5. The Hypnogogue
  6. Albert Ross
  7. Thorn
  8. Aerodrome
  9. The Coming Days
  10. No Other You
  11. Succulent
  12. Antarctica
  13. Second Bridge

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