After 17 albums, Australia's premier purveyors of neo-psychedelic
dream pop have finally come unplugged. The Liberation
Blue Acoustic Series finds the veteran four-piece laying down
14 cuts — including five new tracks — over the span of a
weekend. Beginning with ""The Unguarded Moment"" from
1981's Of Skins and Heart, they gently burn through classics
like ""Metropolis"" and ""Under the Milky Way"" with an intimacy
and intensity that feel more natural than any studio album
that they've released in the last ten years. Though billed as
acoustic, the Church are far too experimental to just sit in front
of the mikes and see what happens; rather, they paint flange on
key cymbal crashes, insert the occasional vocal effect, and
rearrange the songs to fit the new format with mesmerizing
results. Steve Kilbey's long cadences, Tim Powles' spooky percussion
and vibes, Peter Koppes' mandolin and harmonica, and
Marty Willson-Piper's intricate guitar work have never sounded
better — one wishes that they would have applied this aesthetic
earlier in their career, as it complements their sound far
better than the overly atmospheric production that's marred
them in the past. el momento descuidado is both intimate and
far-reaching. The Church have made a career out of dreamy,
reverb-drenched landscapes of murkiness and beauty. Here
they've reduced their songs to the point of clarity, which is
both triumphant and long overdue.

	Til The Cows Come Home		Alternative Retro and Psychedelic
	Unified Field		Alternative

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Chandra Moon	2/3/2013 4:49:41 AM I didn't realise you were here - I have just about all The Church albums - Iive in Bristol UK and love your music. Thanks for hours of listening pleasure over the years!
The Evil Seagulls	10/8/2007 9:00:41 AM you're one of my all-time heroes!
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