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.
Summer
The Church Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were free to my hand
As we touched behind the wind
Left so much outside our skin
You never stay in all four dimensions
You never ever return when you're gone
One more summer in surf city
Solarized recollection
Are as one throughout space
And my mind's always on you
First a light, I'll break through
You never stay in all four dimensions
You never ever return when you're gone
One lonely summer in surf city
Solarized recollection
What a night to start writing about this
Tall palms grasp the summer clouds
And anchor the stormy sky to the ground
Outside the ghosts of Jaguars and Impalas
Roll along the storm roads
Leaving damp marks where they had passed
The air it hisses as they go
It stands aside with a decisive sigh
It reaches for this back's fleeting ???
This night it aches with memory [?]
The Church’s “Summer” is a poignant and nostalgic song that captures the essence of a perfect memory in time. The lyrics describe a summer fling that took place on the beach and how the experience left an indelible impression on the singer’s mind. The verses speak of the freedom and the sense of detachment from the mundane reality that the moment brought. The act of touching behind the wind symbolizes the intimacy and the connection the two shared. It’s a moment of bliss that elevated the singer beyond the physical realm, an experience that could not be contained within the limits of four dimensions.
The lyrics further express a longing for that lost connection, the desire to return to that dreamy summer with its golden rays of sunshine and carefree days. The ‘solarized recollection’ is a representation of the memory being etched into the singer's psyche and the soul. The chorus repeats the notion that this was a once in a lifetime experience, and it was not possible to replicate it again. Even though the singer is fixated on the memory and yearns to relive it, they know deep down that it’s a fleeting moment that can never be regained. The imagery created in the song is haunting, with lines like “Tall palms grasp the summer clouds, and anchor the stormy sky to the ground,” amplifying the mood of the song by showcasing the beauty and power of nature.
Line by Line Meaning
At the sea, in the sand
By the shore, on the beach
You were free to my hand
You held my hand without a care
As we touched behind the wind
In a secret moment away from the breeze
Left so much outside our skin
We forgot about the world around us
You never stay in all four dimensions
You exist beyond the physical world
You never ever return when you're gone
You are always gone for good
One more summer in surf city
Another season spent in the coastal town
Solarized recollection
Memories that are bright and faded
Well the sun and its rays
The bright star and its light
Are as one throughout space
They are connected all throughout the universe
And my mind's always on you
You are always on my thoughts
First a light, I'll break through
I will find my way through the darkness
One lonely summer in surf city
Another season spent alone in the coastal town
Solarized recollection
Memories that are bright and faded
What a night to start writing about this
A perfect moment to start documenting this experience
Tall palms grasp the summer clouds
The trees reach up towards the floating clouds
And anchor the stormy sky to the ground
They keep the turbulent sky steady above the earth
Outside the ghosts of Jaguars and Impalas
The spirits of cars from long ago
Roll along the storm roads
Traveling along the windy, weathered roads
Leaving damp marks where they had passed
Causing the ground to be left wet where they went
The air it hisses as they go
The faint sound they make as they drive by
It stands aside with a decisive sigh
The atmosphere lets the cars go by with an accepting, firm breath
It reaches for this back's fleeting ???
The breeze tries to catch the memory that has slipped away
This night it aches with memory
This moment is filled with nostalgic pain
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: STEVEN JOHN KILBEY, PETER KOPPES, TIM GUY GERARD POWLES, MARTIN HOWARD WILLSON-PIPER, MARTY WILLSON-PIPER, STEVEN KILBEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
BittersweetSymphony
on You're Still Beautiful
Sometimes I wonder if he is writing about himself