After signing to Arista in 1988, they saw their largest international success with the album Starfish and the American Top 40 hit "Under The Milky Way" which resurfaced on the soundtrack of the cult movie "Donnie Darko". Whilst the band remain feted by their peers, subsequent commercial success proved elusive: 1990s follow-up album "Gold Afternoon Fix" failed to capitalise on their success, and the band weathered several line-up changes after its release, first losing long-term drummer Richard Ploog, then Peter Koppes following 1992s "Priest = Aura". That album baffled and confused many fans upon its release as to what band The Church was considered to be, but is now considered a seminal album and one of the most revered by Church connoisseurs. The vacant drum-stool on Priest=Aura being occupied by Jay Dee Daugherty of Arista labelmate Patti Smiths group, and it was produced by Gavin MacKillop of Moose.
Reduced to a two-piece, Kilbey & Willson-Piper re-grouped with the assistance of drummer/producer Tim Powles to record 1994's "Sometime Anywhere", concluding their obligations to the Arista and Mushroom labels. The commercial decline, combined with the Church being ignored again by a music press more focused on the Nineties' music trends, could have brought about the demise of the band, had it not coincided with the breakthrough of the internet, thus enabling direct communication from the band to its passionate cult fanbase.
This brought about a new beginning for The Church, with Peter Koppes rejoining the band for recording 1996s "Magician Among The Spirits". The band (with Koppes back into the fold, and Powles now as the permanent drummer ), hit a re-newed creative surge and with regained selfconfidence, released "Hologram Of Baal" 2 years later, and toured Australia, the USA and Europe.
The first decade of the 21st century found the band releasing severeal highly critically acclaimed albums, like 2002's aptly named "After Everything Now this" and 2003's "Forget Yourself", the latter breaking new ground with bandmembers swapping instruments in the recording process. Live performances stray from high profile events like the 03 concerts at Sydney Opera House and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, to low-profile gigs for smaller audiences, often confusing old 80s fans, surprised to find the band still playing, wrongly assuming the band just being one in the never-ending string of reunion acts.
2009's album "Untitled#23" marked yet another highlight.. its essence represented in just 10 songs, and with a strong less-is-more approach, the albums core identity being on par with Starfish, it also finds Steve Kilbey breaking new ground as a vocalist.
2010 saw their 30th anniversary, with extensive touring in the US and Australia. Their unique position and importance in the australian music scene was recognized with an ARIA award.
Their album, "Further Deeper", was released in 2014, and "man woman life death infinity" in 2017.
Frozen and Distant
The Church Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All those pretty pretty months were so deceiving
We are glowing
All those lucky lucky stars we've been blowing
The hammer falls and it's going, going, gone
And all the pulse in this reflection
We are freezing
And you thought that all that cold war stuff was teasing
Prophet of doom went straight to your head
Frozen and distant, release the cold (ice cannot see)
Here in an instant, could be next week (eyes cannot see)
Frozen and distant relic
We say one day
This ice will all melt down but we'll be washed away
Funny how it seems important here and now
Tryur daily bread
Frozen and distant, really sublime (ice cannot see)
Here in an instant, could be next time (eyes cannot see)
Frozen and distant relic
The song Frozen and Distant by The Church is a powerful commentary on the fleeting nature of human existence and the paradoxical nature of time. The song begins with an evocative image of the band members "seething" with emotion, implying that they are filled with a sense of anger or frustration that they struggle to contain. They reflect on the passage of time and the way that things that once seemed "pretty pretty" and "lucky lucky" have now revealed themselves to be deceptive and false.
The central theme of the song is encapsulated in the chorus, with its repeated refrain of "frozen and distant, release the cold." This phrase suggests that the band is frozen in time, unable to move forward or escape their current situation, but also implies that there is a kind of release or catharsis that can come from accepting this reality. At the same time, the phrase "ice cannot see" reminds us that there is a fundamental blindness in the way we experience time, that we are unable to see the larger patterns or structures that govern our lives.
Throughout the song, the band employs a range of haunting and atmospheric sounds, from the tremulous guitars that open the song to the eerie echoes that follow the chorus. The lyrics are similarly evocative, touching on several different themes and images that are woven together in a complex and multi-layered way. If there is a central message to the song, it is perhaps the idea that our lives are fragile and fleeting, that we are always teetering on the edge of oblivion, but that there is also beauty in this transience, a kind of fragile and delicate grace that can be appreciated only by those who are brave enough to face the truth.
Line by Line Meaning
We are seething
We are consumed by anger and frustration
All those pretty pretty months were so deceiving
The good times we had were just a facade
We are glowing
We are filled with an inner light and energy
All those lucky lucky stars we've been blowing
We've been wasting our time on meaningless pursuits
The hammer falls and it's going, going, gone
Our progress has been abruptly halted and will soon be gone
And all the pulse in this reflection
All the life and energy we see is just a reflection of our own
We are freezing
We are numb and lifeless
And you thought that all that cold war stuff was teasing
You thought the threat of war was just a joke
The weather's strange so we stay in bed
The world is unpredictable and we'd rather hide from it
Prophet of doom went straight to your head
You've been affected by someone predicting the worst possible outcome
Frozen and distant, release the cold (ice cannot see)
We are so cold and numb that we no longer feel anything
Here in an instant, could be next week (eyes cannot see)
We have no way of predicting the future
Frozen and distant relic
We are like a frozen artifact, no longer alive
We say one day
We hold onto the hope that things will get better eventually
This ice will all melt down but we'll be washed away
Eventually, things will change, but we might not be around to see it
Funny how it seems important here and now
The things that seem important in the moment may not matter in the long run
Tryur daily bread
We focus on survival, but don't find any real fulfillment in it
Frozen and distant, really sublime (ice cannot see)
Our numbness and apathy have become strangely beautiful
Here in an instant, could be next time (eyes cannot see)
The future is unpredictable, and we can't see what's coming next
Frozen and distant relic
We are like frozen artifacts of a bygone era, cut off from the present
Contributed by Ethan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Luis Jáuregui
Podría estar escuchando esta canción durante horas, sobre todo el cambio del final. Sin duda una de las mejores bandas que existen.
2112gil
This a truly great song!!!
Juan Esteban Cuevas
The Church es sin duda una de las mejores bandas capaces de crear momentos musicales; en ese plano solo los comparo a Pink Floyd, pero estos últimos tienden a ser un poco predecibles; lo que no sucede con Church, crean ambientes en bits acelerados o lentos; siempre embriagados de nostalgia; definitivamente grandes músicos. lamentablemente alejados de los escenarios; si vemos su web no hay agendados conciertos para lo que queda del 2013.
Paul Collins
This is some of their best work.
Vincent V
Great song! Looking forward to their last album which comes out this month (Oct).
Pepe Rodriguez
Juan Esteban, estan este año de gira, los vi en New York y estan mejor que nunca, Saludos ¡¡
Rayncatt
awesomeness!