The Church

Gold Afternoon Fix

The Church hit a pothole.

Review Score:

(6/10)
I was very excited when this one came out. Starfish, the band's unquestionable masterpiece at the time, left me wondering what the band was going to do for a follow-up. Thanks to the unnerving pressures of Arista records (they told them to make an album designed to outsell U2), the Church tried way too hard. And those of you who are Church fans know that the Church sound their best when they don't try as hard.

For nearly fifteen years I have been listening to this album at steady intervals. And my opinion of the music is alarmingly the same now as it was in 1990. Some songs I have learned to like, others I have grown to dislike over time (that rarely happens), and some just don't seem to go anywhere for me. At it's best, Gold Afternoon Fix is an 'A for effort' album made under difficult circumstances with a few good songs shining through. At it's worst, it is an over-labored, stretched-out attempt to grasp the golden ring of pop/rock glory in the early 90s alternative scene.

One thing that would have helped Gold Afternoon Fix: a different producer. Waddy Wetchel already produced Starfish, and the relationship they formed was not exactly a friendly one. So when they had to fly to LA to do their next album, I imagine their motivation waned considerably when they learned who was going to be running the project. Clocking in at almost an hour with 13 songs, Wetchel didn't know when or where to trim the fat and keep the album focused (Forget Yourself, the Church's latest, is lengthier, has more songs, but yet feels shorter).

Another ill-advised move was how the Church finised the rhythm tracks. Drummer Richard Ploog had become very disinterested in the band at this point and took a lazy approach to everything. Discouraged by Ploog for not pulling his weight, singer Steve Kilbey dismissed him halfway through the making of the album. The rest of Gold Afternoon Fix was finished with a drum machine. I can't even begin to explain how stiff this sounds to me. A session drummer was definitely needed in order for this album to sound its best.

But production and drums aside, Gold Afternoon Fix still suffers in parts by weak songwriting. Disappointment, Laughing and Fading Away rely too much on repetition to drive their point across (if there is a point). You're Still Beautiful has potential (you gotta love that beginning), but falls on it's face with a very banal chorus. Transient showcases a vocally-challenged Peter Koppes taking the lead. Aside from the cool guitar solo, there is not much to redeem this compositionally tired song. Grind, the final track, would make a great bold ending to the album if they didn't perform it like it was a dirge.

But not all of it is bad. Metropolis almost became a hit, showing a vibrant side to the band that most people did not hear. The gentle ballad of Monday Morning help offset the rowdy Russian Autumn Heart. They dip their sound into the coffee-shop atmosphere with City and revisit their psychadelic side with Essence. Come to think of it, Gold Afternoon Fix wouldn't have been so bad if 1/3 of it was removed.

Steve Kilbey himself says that Gold Afternoon Fix was a great big mistake. And the cynicism was coming through in his lyrics pretty early in the game. For instance, the first line of Pharoah reads:

"Hi" to all the people who are selling me
Here's one straight from the factory.

The last stanza is even better as Kilbey discribes the dictator in question:

Late at night, when I'm lying in bed
I've got to say a prayer for my daily bread
And early in the morning when I'm still asleep
He's sitting on the throne making grown men weep
In boredom

You can take a good guess who he is singing about in the song Pharaoh. And that is a big reason why when you see the Church play a show, you rarely hear a song from Gold Afternoon Fix.

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