El Momento Siguiente
by The Church
REVIEWS and COMMENTS
Ok, so the Church are on a roll and have been on a roll for some time now. They deliver again on El Momento Siguente. Wide Open Road starts this one off, a laid back tune that you just want to crank up on a Sunday drive. It's no reason glides right along with some great cello. Reptile didn't do it for me, I prefer the original, but I think the band enjoyed reshaping it. Tantalized, does just that, straight out of the middle east, not one of my fav's but to each their own. Electric Lash, with the slide guitar really shines. After Everything, seems even sadder then it did on AENT, think it was the cello that brought it home. Two Places at once, pretty much the same just much cleaner sounding than the original. A stripped back Appalatia compliments this record quite well. Bordello, I didn't like this one at first, but like many Church songs, it takes a couple of listens. Pure Chance, sung as a duet, is wonderful. Grind, NSEW, and Comeuppance are for me the triple play that makes this album so great. The Church continue to inspire.
A worthy follow up to its acoustic predecessor, El Momento Siguiente is an utterly compelling album by the Church. However, the only song that somehow fails to convince entirely is the band's cover of the Triffids "Wide Open Road"...it's certainly sung and played with passion but somehow, they don't seem to pull it off entirely. That said, the rest of the material is wonderful with a couple of unexpected twists and turns along the way.
"It's No Reason" sails along like a stately galleon nicely assisted by a string section. Then comes the first surprise of the record. A truly different version of "Reptile" with that famous guitar riff done on a piano and Steve singing with a laconic sense of humour. The song ends with some jazzy scat singing that brings a smile to your face. There's barely time to recover before you are transported to what seems like an ashram in south India...you can almost smell the smoke from dozens of joss sticks and hear the chanting of priestesses against the drone of a sitar as Steve intones the mantra of an unrecognisably altered "Tantalized" and tantalized you are... Man what trip!! The scene now rapidly shifts to a weatherbeaten shack somewhere in the old west as a dobro introduces us to "Electric Lash" Is that Steve a sittin' on the porch an singin'? ...lawdy it sho is mighty bluesy and purty too! After a straight reading of "After Everything" we are treated to the 1st new song on the album, "Song In The Afternoon," and it's a beauty, hanging on some lovely atmospheric piano chords. "Two Places At Once" sees Steve and Marty trading vocals as in the original and is every bit as intriguing. This time round, "Appalatia" is quite different to the version on Forget Yourself but Peter and the band gives us an alternative that doesn't fall short on the "wow" factor! "Bordello"...another new slow burner has Steve ranting and raving all over it...Phew! "Pure Chance" and a scorching, barnstorming "Grind" lifts you up and takes you away to another plane. Great drumming and percussion from Tim! "NSEW" gently wafts you back to earth and "Comeuppance" a new instrumental gives you time to get your breath back and release the buckles of your seat belts at the end of a strange, wonderful trip! God, these guys NEVER fail to deliver!
un buen album ya tengo mi copia le doy unas tres estrellas pero muy buen album primera vez q escucho reptile en version acustica como tambien tantalized y bueno muchas canciones mas y los nuevos temas geniales.