Customer Reviews

After Everything Now This

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has been 15 years since Austrailian alt-rockers The Church were on top of the American charts with "Under the Milky Way" from their best studio album "Starfish." Most people probably think the band broke up long ago, but in actuality they simply turned their back on big time commercial success and remained true to their own artistic vision. Last year, I saw them play a small club near D.C., and they were so energetic and polished that many people in the audience were commenting that they ought to be doing stadium shows.

So along comes "After Everything, Now This," and even though it hasn't returned the band to the Top 20, it is their best collection of songs since their Heyday. The highlights include "After Everything," Numbers," "Radiance," and "Seen it Coming." But picking out individual songs doesn't mean much on an atmospherically consistent album such as this one. The 10 tunes on the playlist last nearly an hour, leisurely unfolding in swirls of accoustic guitars and synthesizers. Though it could perhaps use a tad more rock energy, "After Everything" is nevertheless a keeper.

'AENT' is one of the most underrated and overlooked releases of 2002, period. Why bands like 'The Flaming Lips' and 'Radiohead' get so much more recognition than 'The Church' these days is beyond me. 'AENT', IMHO, is clearly superior and more memorable than current releases by these aforementioned bands, and many others in 2002. The music is very mature, evolved, and dreamy with the band creating lush soundscapes of swirling guitars, and half-spoken, half-sung vocals that permeate your very being! I've never heard anything like it, and it blew me away! There aren't many releases that I can truly 'connect' with, but 'AENT' does it for me! It is an awe-inspiring, 'watch the ocean waves come in as you listen' work of art. Don't miss this one!

It has been a long time coming - but the wait was more than worth it. Another jam packed album of sparkling ephemeral guitars with trance inducing lyrics and captivating rhythms.
My personal 'first listen' favourite is "Chromium", however "Invisible" and "Night Friends" have quickly caught up in rank. It really is hard because there are no bad songs on the album. From start to finish the listener is taken on a journey from the cynical hypnotic beat of "Numbers" to the wistful cry of "Invisible". No weak songs at all.

My only criticism (and it really isn't a negative point - just a personal taste) is the mixing. The album comes across as either a great live production or a slightly deficient studio recording. I feel trapped somewhat between the two because I know it is a studio album yet I do appreciate the live feel, it just isn't quite the clarity I expected. However, after acclimatising to the mix - the album is a pure treasure. Proof that _The Church_ are still one of the few great musical groups that have braved the rigours of the industry and still come out sounding as themselves.
A truly great record!

I have truly enjoyed the Church's many albums through years and this one ranks among their best! "After Everything Now This" marks the complete transformation of the band's sound that began with "Gold Afternoon Fix". They refined and experimented with this sound in their recordings during the 1990s (think of Tranquility from "Hologram of Baal" or Paradox from "Priest=Aura"). "After Everything Now This" coalesces this sound into a single album.

The album blends songs full of lush guitar interplay with others crafted with a more open, spacious feel. The songs are melodic, but not anything one could call pop music. The music can be dense at times, with layers upon layers of instruments and effects, but then, that is one of the things I enjoy most about the band's music. The album opens up more with each listen.

I wish I could make a comparison to some other band to provide a reference point for someone who might not be familiar with the Church, but I cannot. If you decide to gamble and spend your hard earned cash, give the album at least three listens before passing judgement.

If Starfish was your last exposure to the band, you will be quite surprised by this album. Give it a shot - I don't think you will be disappointed...unless you're expecting Starfish!

The Church's 'After Everything Now This' is excellent and most original in its unique artistic approach. This is truly an aural masterpiece that in my opinion showcases the cohesion and maturation of one of rock's greatest bands ever. These guys were meant to play together!

The recording and mastering quality is also very evident in this mix of ethereal, dreamy tunes. Playing this CD through my very revealing high-end Magneplanar speakers put me right there in the studio with them, and the quality just blew me away. Steve Kilbey's mellifluous vocals just float ever so beautifully in front of you, and seem to linger and permeate your being, while Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper paint beautiful yet intense sonic pictures with their very introspective, sometimes delicate, other times understated but driving wall of sound! They can be subtle, and they can be piercing, but they are always articulate players. And to put icing on the cake, Tim Powles provides clockwork timekeeping duties worthy of a world class drummer. This is easily one of the best releases of this decade so far! Go listen and see for yourself...

Left for dead at the end of the 1980's, The Church has soldiered on, consistently putting out albums that top the previous one while seeing their sales shrink with each new release. And now, fourteen years after their sole smash "Under the Milky Way", they have fashioned a hypnotic, stunning album that transports the listener to another world, if only for an hour.

At 16 years old and an unwilling member of the Britney Spears generation, I'm probably out of the target market for After Everything Now This. I wasn't even born when Heyday came out and hadn't yet learned to walk when the band hit the mainstream with Starfish. Still, this album reached me in a way very few others ever have. Listen to this album in a dark room at night with headphones, and you'll drift off to another place, a lush world where all your worries are no more and you are the only inhabitant.

Here's your guide to the stops along the way:

1 Numbers - the opening guitar line sets the mood for the album, slowly gaining the momentum of a runaway freight train as it barrels toward a thick wall of sound, becoming faster and more chaotic before exploding at the end. The album's single and one of the most intense songs. 5/5

2 After Everything - spacey and haunting, this song seems to drift on for twice it's six minute length. Lyrically and musically this is the soundtrack to your dreams, taking you back through your past. Like most of the album, this song doesn't stand alone, but as part of the journey it's an experience you have to take. 4/5

3 The Awful Ache - starting with a menacing, disjointed bass riff that seems to have leaked in from the outside, the song soon changes gears and we are transported to a state of bliss. The lyrics are abstract but told in a ballad style, and musically this is trance inducing. 4/5

4 Song for the Asking - musically stunning, but this song has the weakest vocal delivery. Steve Kilbey sounds tired, but they fit the lyrics. All the emotions that accompany depression and teen angst (without the anger) are wrapped into a song, making for a disturbing but necessary trip. 3/5

5 Chromium - the fastest and most rocking song on the album, Chromium would have been a great choice for second single. Twin guitars square off against each other, nailing you to your seat. A nightmare. 5/5

6 Radiance - my least favorite standalone song on the album, Radiance is another faux-ballad that ultimately fails because of too much a similarity to stop 3; The Awful Ache. Furthers the trip though, and isn't to be skipped. 2/5

7 Reprieve - 3/5

8 Night Friends - visually fascinating, waves of calm float over you like a warm blanket on a cold night, bringing you to a state somewhere between dream and nightmare, life and death. Let yourself go and magic will happen. Frightening and spacey, Night Friends is the trip's shining moment. 5+/5

9 Seen it Coming - 2/5

10 Invisible - seemingly infinite layers wrap around the core of Invisible, with each new visit yielding new discoveries. Listen to this song in your darkest moments and let a ray of light sneak in. 5+/5

Recommended listens: Judgement - Anathema, Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

It has been too long in waiting for me to purchase this CD and their latest opus Forget Yourself. While Forget Yourself is still growing on me,I had to take time to say a few words about this fantastic CD. You can say what you like about Preist=Aura, I still love that CD. Anyway, After Everything Now This takes up right where they left off with Hologram of Baal. These guys have been one of my favorite bands since I first heard Heyday when I was in high school. Even a lackluster CD like Magician Among The Spirits has some gems to offer. When I first heard Hologram of Baal, I thought it was their best work since Heyday/Starfish & Preist. After Everything Now This proves these guys are masters at their art, consistemtly putting out CDs that are rich in poignant lyrics. lush soundscapes and artistic musicianship. If you are new to the Church, this is a great CD to own, or if you just appreciate good music, pick this up...this CD and Hologram of Baal (looking at their recent work) will make you want to go on a Church CD shopping spree.

Tracks that standout for me right now, "Song for the Asking" is one of the best sons they have done. I enjoy the lushness of "Reprieve" and Wilson-Piper's triumphant solo at the end makes this song an instant classic.

And if you want a rundown of this Church fan's top picks.
1. Starfish
2. Hologram of Baal
3. After Everything Now This
4. Heyday
5. Preist = Aura
6. Gold Afternoon Fix
7. The Blurred Crusade
8. Sometime Anywhere
9. Seance
10. Forget Yourself

...and I don't use that description lightly. Relatively quiet and contemplative, this is a stunning album by a great, highly underrated band at the peak of their powers. This record deserves a far wider audience. It's mature without sounding "old", it's serious without being ponderous or pretentious, it's deeply felt without being sappy - you get the picture. If I ever bothered to create a list of my desert island discs, this one would probably be right at the top of the list.

This sublime, dreamy, silky, soothing, mature release makes me want to use my Radiohead CD's as coasters! The Church's latest music is so phenomenal, this would have sold millions if only people were turned on to it, or aware of its magic! The songs are compositionally intense, but beautiful, and reflective of a band whose longevity has only increased their cohesiveness and creativity. This CD is truly a creative, alternative 'artrock' masterpiece! It's almost as if The Church have worked all of their lives to achieve this pinnacle in their career. AENT is a must buy for 2002, if you love great music.

The Church have been around for quite some time and have released many albums. For some reason the addition of drummer and producer Tim Powles in 1997-ish have made these talented song-smiths gel together. Not only are the songs written for this album among the best they have written, but the production on this album is immaculate! It's very rare that the interplay of guitars between Marty Wilson-Piper and Peter Knoppes has sounded so pistine and powerful. This is the kind of album that perks your interest upon the first listen, but then keeps growing and growing on you, to the point where you can't put it down. This band is in their finest form, a continuation of the sound they achieved with 1998's "Hologram of Baal". Get this album, put in on, and let its sound completely envelope you. You'll see that your favorite track will change with more listens, until eventually you'll realize that each song is exceptional in its own way.