The Church ‘The Hypnogogue’ Review: Australian alternative legends emerge with revamped lineup on triumphant new concept album.

‘The Hypnogogue’ is the most prog rock thing we have ever done and also we’ve never had a concept album before. So sayeth Steve Kilbey, the vocalist/bassist/founder of The Church regarding their new album The Hypnogogue, (February 24, 2023 via Communicating Vessels), their follow-up to 2017’s well-received Man Woman Life Death Infinity.

Check out his cheeky description of the title track: Invented by Sun Kim Jong, a Korean scientist and occult dabbler, The Hypnogogue, his a machine and a process that pulls music straight of dreams. The song is about Eros Zeta, the biggest rock star of 2054, who has traveled from his home in Antarctica (against his manager’s advice) to use the Hypnogogue to help him revive his flagging fortunes. In the midst of the toxic process, he also falls in love with Sun Kim and it all ends tragically (of course…as these things often do).

It may seem surprising that a band known for psychedelic epics took 26 albums to make a proper concept album, but The Hypnogogue, the first release featuring guitarist Ashley Naylor (replacing longtime guitarist Peter Koppes) and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Cain (Remy Zero), delivers on that conceit, culminating in one of the group’s most sprawling and immersive efforts.

Things start in earnest on opener Ascendance, a simmering, expansive number that recalls Destination from 1988’s Starfish. Featuring brooding sonics, a dramatic key change, a vortex of tweaked guitars and Kilbey’s enigmatic vocals, it casts a moody spell before segueing into C’est La Vie, a spritely post-punk number featuring a needling riff and danceable beat, with Kilbey’s playfully intoning I won’t fuck with that/so good luck with that.

Click here for my new interview with Kilbey discussing the new album

I Think I Knew is cinematic miasma of guitar and synth, recalling Kilbey’s collaborations with Martin Kennedy, with an emotive riff underscoring reflective lyrics, sung in his trademark silken croon: I think I knew what you wanted, I think I need to think it through…I think I knew where’s it all leading to, playing my song just for you.

The aforementioned title track is the group at their most labyrinthine, a musical fever dream recalling The Disillusionist from fan favorite 1992 album Priest = Aura. It’s ever undulating and off-kilter, perforated by ghostly piano, boomeranging guitars and drummer Tim Powles’ lurching beat, over which Kilbey spins his conceptual yarn, at one point even referencing the song itself: Remember the music pulled out of your head/Tinkling piano trickling into the cans/ Insulating guitars/Reptilian bass, the kick in your face.

It’s fitting for a band this far into their career to draw inspiration inwardly: Aerodrone is a lovely  ballad, recalling late-90’s gem Louisiana, while These Coming Days and Antarctica conjure comparisons to their early 80’s works. This is a feature, not a bug. The fact that the group are still able to weave sonic tapestries that feel both new and familiar is a testament to their enduring sound.

While some fans may miss the guitar interplay of the Peter Koppes/Marty Willson-Piper era, guitarists Ian Haug (who joined the band in 2013) and Naylor have an earthy chemistry all their own, erupting in moments like No Other You, which features the biggest (and perhaps first?) blues-based guitar riff in the band’s catalogue, and a stinging solo. And on album closer Second Bridge, their choreographed axe attack builds to a suitably seismic finale, with an ever-escalating spiral staircase of hallucinogenic sound.

The two also know when to show restraint, as on Flickering Lights, creating soothing sonic textures that bleed into the cavernous arrangement to dreamlike effect.

As far as deciphering a conceptual through-line, the lack of a lyric sheet and Kilbey’s cryptic prose makes it a intriguing challenge to connect the dots between the album’s 13 tracks. It’s best to enjoy the journey and not worry about the destination, letting the album wash over you before looking for overarching themes.

Thanks to Kilbey’s quality control and the caliber of his band mates,The Hypnogogue is an enthralling musical statement, and a declaration of creative intent. The Church is too vital a musical organism to be doubted or denied.