The Church honor their 45th anniversary with The Singles Tour, a career-spanning set at Austin’s Long Center.
Aussie psychedelic act The Church are best known for their dreamy single “Under the Milky Way”. But to die-hard fans, they’re equally revered for deep cuts from their entire catalogue.
This makes the group’s current Singles Tour (1980-2025) such an intriguing proposition, entirely devoted to singles off their 37-albums. This week the band graced Austin with the career spanning set.
Steve Kilbey, the band’s frontman, bassist and founding member was charming throughout, playfully self-deprecating, appearing genuinely moved by the warm reception.
He asked if the audience was excited to hear the singles. After raucous applause he joked “how superficial of you” before launching into “Columbus”, the jangly earworm from their 1985 album Heyday.
Kilbey provided “context” for many of the band’s songs. including how a bizarre acid trip inspired him to write the psychedelic gem “Tear It All Away”. He also recounted an early gig playing to an unruly mob that resulted in their manager begging the band to play their hit “The Unguarded Moment” (“Steve, whatever they want, you better give it to them”).
In addition, Kilbey noted that an Australian critic dubbed the band’s Seance single “It’s No Reason” as” “‘Puff The Magic Dragon’ on bad acid!” Then the band launched into the song to raucous applause.
The group played for over two and a half-hours, covering their wide terrain of material. While there were some notable omissions (some albums were skipped entirely), the set-list was packed with gems both spritely and economical (“Electric Lash”, “Almost With You”) to labyrinthine, prog epics (“The Hypnogogue“, “Block”).
While the current lineup is devoid of the band’s original guitarists, axemen Ian Haug and Ashley Naylor nailed vintage tracks, including a barn-burning rendition of “Tantalized.” Early single “When You Were Mine” saw the band bring the song to a near hush, the audience silently enrapt before bursting into cheers at the song’s soaring conclusion.
Picking standouts from such a massive setlist is difficult, but for this Church fan, it was exciting to hear songs I’ve never experienced live, such as the double drummer fueled “Ripple” (off the band’s 1992 masterpiece Priest=Aura), 7-inch single “Constant in Opal”, and the shimmering Heyday cut “Already Yesterday.”
What was notable throughout the set is how cohesive their catalogue is, while also hearing the advancement in musicianship on more recent material (“Realm of Minor Angels“, “Another Century“).
The group also delved into their landmark 1988 album Starfish, including the undulating “Reptile”, unnerving “Destination”, and of course “Under The Milky Way”, which prompted the audience to sing along with Kilbey over strumming acoustic guitars.
He noted the band have a special affection for Austin: thanks to a local patron, they were gifted recording time in a local studio for their upcoming album. The audience were treated to two new singles, “Western” and epic stunner “Sacred Echoes (Part 2)”.
Thus concluded a vast body of work that encapsulates a band that defy age, lineup changes and musical trends, leaving fans satiated by the group’s early triumphs, while excited for their future.