The Australian band The Church have gathered quite a number of admirers despite remaining relatively obscure during their 14-year career, and Whelan's was packed solid last Saturday night for a special acoustic performance by the band's main members, Steve Kilbey and Marty Willson-Piper.

Armed only with a pair of 12-string guitars, the duo delicately picked their way through The Church's excellent back catalogue, plucking some perfect moments from their post-punk psychedelic history. The songs of The Church are dreaming spires of words and music, keyboard-laden soundscapes whose textures are almost as important as their structures.

In an acoustic setting, the songs sound more like works-in-progress, draughtman's sketches for a soon-to-be finished masterpiece. But they still possess The Church's unique sense of monumental melancholy, and songs like 'Mistress', 'Providence', and 'A Month Of Sundays' resonate with detached longing.

Kilbey's vocals undulate with a gentle consistency, creating a calm sea of emotions and observations in contrast to Willson-Piper's choppy, distorted guitar lines, which catch the listener in more than one unguarded moment. With the help of some guitar touches, Willson-Piper puts a storm front on Kilbey's delicate surface, and songs like 'Under The Milky Way' and 'Reptile' are given a new depth as a result.

Since most "unplugged" sessions wouldn't be complete without a cover version or two, Kilbey and Willson-Piper oblige with T. Rex's 'Life's A Gas' and Neil Young's 'Cortez The Killer'. For those who don't know the music of The Church, this was a nicely understated session by two very experienced songsmiths; for certified fans of the Antipodean New Wavers, this was a long-awaited trip to Valhalla.

-Kevin Courtney

Return to Reviews Index