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.
Lustre
The Church Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the night came down
Sweating rain on everyone
Anyone who was hanging around
You say there's something strange going on
I cannot see a thing
And pretty soon then we'll be drenched to the bone
And my soul is freezing
And we really should decide
Who's taking who for this
Ride the bandwagon into the ditch
Smile for the many you shocked
Bless my soul and drop a stitch
Strike while the irony is hot
And I don't have much time
There's so much left to take
It'd hard to know what's genuine
And what's a genuine fake
I think there's something weird going on
Something unforseen
The best impression of a succubus
That I have ever seen
Before we get too fried
Let's get on with the
Ride the ghost train now into the dark
Ride it right into the ground
Up through the suburbs, graveyards and parks
Going around and around
If I never see you again
That will be way too soon
And if I ever get over this
I will be over the moon
I hope that something new comes along
Something more my style
I hope that someone else comes along
And makes it worth my while
And it's lust and sloth and pride
That makes me want to
Ride the rollercoaster for all that it's worth
Live it all up to the hilt
If you can't take it with you
Away from this earth
Might as well take it full tilt
Ride the old horse through goldrush town
If that's the kind of company you keep
You're getting very tired and you need to lie down
I'll see you in your sleep
The Church's song Lustre is a complex and enigmatic piece of music, filled with vivid imagery and thought-provoking lyrics. The song begins with an eerie sense of impending doom as the night descends, accompanied by the heavy rain that drenches everyone in its path. The lyrics seem to suggest that the singer is aware of something ominous that is about to happen, but cannot quite put his finger on what it could be. This feeling of uncertainty and dread permeates the entire song, giving it a dark and foreboding atmosphere.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the singer is struggling to understand his own motivations and desires. He speaks of the "lust and sloth and pride" that drive him to live life to the fullest, to take risks and seek out new experiences. Yet at the same time, he seems aware that this pursuit of pleasure is ultimately empty and unsatisfying, like riding a rollercoaster "for all that it's worth." The line "If you can't take it with you / Away from this earth / Might as well take it full tilt" implies a sense of nihilism, as if the singer believes that nothing he does in this life really matters in the grand scheme of things.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of detachment and resignation, as if the singer has accepted his place in the world and is resigned to live out his days in a state of perpetual restlessness. The final lines, "I'll see you in your sleep," have a haunting quality to them, suggesting that the singer's quest for meaning and purpose may be ultimately futile.
Line by Line Meaning
Well we had just begun
We started this journey of indulgence not too long ago
When the night came down
Suddenly, the darkness of the night engulfed us
Sweating rain on everyone
The unexpected rain was making us sweat and feel uncomfortable
Anyone who was hanging around
Everyone who was there with us was affected by this situation
You say there's something strange going on
You sense that something out of the ordinary is happening
I cannot see a thing
I am unaware of what's going on
And pretty soon then we'll be drenched to the bone
We will soon be completely drenched by the rain
And my soul is freezing
I feel chilled to the bone, both physically and spiritually
And we really should decide
We need to make some decisions
Who's taking who for this
We need to clarify who is leading who in this situation
Ride the bandwagon into the ditch
We are blindly following a trend that is heading towards failure
Smile for the many you shocked
We take pleasure in shocking others and receiving their attention
Bless my soul and drop a stitch
I hope to be blessed and avoid any trouble or misfortune
Strike while the irony is hot
We must act now while the opportunity is still available
And I don't have much time
We are running out of time to make a decision
There's so much left to take
We have not yet taken everything that we desire
It'd hard to know what's genuine
It's difficult to distinguish what is real and what is fake
And what's a genuine fake
Some things seem real but are actually fake
I think there's something weird going on
I believe that there is something strange happening
Something unforseen
Something unexpected
The best impression of a succubus
The most convincing representation of a seductive, female demon
That I have ever seen
That I have encountered
Before we get too fried
Before we become too exhausted
Let's get on with the
Let's continue on with our journey
Ride the ghost train now into the dark
We must face our fears and ride the ghost train into the darkness
Ride it right into the ground
We must keep going even if it leads us to destruction
Up through the suburbs, graveyards and parks
Our journey takes us through the mundane and the eerie places
Going around and around
We keep repeating our actions over and over
If I never see you again
I hope to never cross paths with you again
That will be way too soon
It would still be too long of a time for me to reunite with you
And if I ever get over this
If I ever recover from this situation
I will be over the moon
I will be extremely happy
I hope that something new comes along
I hope that a fresh opportunity presents itself
Something more my style
I hope for something that better aligns with my preferences
I hope that someone else comes along
I hope to meet someone else who is better suited for me
And makes it worth my while
And presents me with a more fulfilling experience
And it's lust and sloth and pride
Our sinful, hedonistic desires drive us to new heights
That makes me want to
These desires drive me to take action
Ride the rollercoaster for all that it's worth
We must enjoy the ups and downs of life to the fullest extent
Live it all up to the hilt
We should indulge in everything life has to offer
If you can't take it with you
We cannot bring our worldly possessions with us beyond life
Away from this earth
Once we leave this world
Might as well take it full tilt
We should enjoy everything now while we still can
Ride the old horse through goldrush town
Let's continue on this journey, no matter how old the path may be
If that's the kind of company you keep
If those are the people you choose to associate with
You're getting very tired and you need to lie down
It's time to rest and let go of these sinful desires
I'll see you in your sleep
I will visit you in your dreams
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAUGHERTY, KILBEY, KOPPES, WILSON-PIPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
BittersweetSymphony
on You're Still Beautiful
Sometimes I wonder if he is writing about himself