The Church- Uninvited Like The Clouds

Fresh from celebrating their 25th anniversary in the musical universe, yet again do The Church boldly venture on into another sonic adventure into the psychedelic subconscious. Tracking the band's path from 1981's Of Skins And Heart to this album, their 17th official one, you'd feel that the evolution from a slightly nervous pop band to this neo-psychedelic romantic dreampop-outfit had been completed several years ago and inbetween the last few albums there was not that much difference (except for 2004's acoustic sidetrip El Momento Descuidado). If you had to point out any differences in regards to than previous studio-album Forget Yourself it's that Uninvited Like The Clouds is slightly poppier, less robust but warmer in general tone. Whatever that might mean for the average listener who still is being treated to quality pop in a standard Church-setting; Steve Kilbey's dead-pan but warmly measured vocals offering his cut 'n paste-like lyrics over the nice riffs of Marty Willson-Piper's guitar, ably assisted by multi-instrumentalist Peter Koppes and percussionist Tim Powles. The album's bursting with nice melodies and vocal lines that come wrapped in shimmering sound and where sound effects fly around like space debris in the vastness of the space The Church inhabits. Opening track Block's drive is motored by a little guitarriff and builds up nicely through the tenseness of keys and guitars. Other songs reveal less progress but immediately bind you; Easy envelopes you straightaway in a full soundscape whereas Day 5's eerie keyboardwashes are more likely to seduce you into the song. Skilfully executed with more heart than skin- it's a typical good Church-album and that's more than enough.

****