The Church

Hologram Of Baal

A refreshingly new, yet nicely familiar release

Review Score:

(8/10)
Many people in the world wouldn't know who the Church are anymore these days. Older Aussies might remember them for early hits like "The Unguarded Moment" and "Almost With You," and of course a fair number of souls around the planet would recognize their one big hit from '88 "Under the Milky Way" if they heard it on the radio (and some may even remember its name). Apart from that though, the Church has basically creeped along silently through the music business, writing some of the most unique and interesting music this end of the century without much recognition for their distinct genius. They've had their shares of glories and upsets, but few bands have held out so long with so much of their integrity intact. Hologram of Baal is simply a continuation of this uniqueness in style. Or perhaps a resurrection of it. After all, this is the first album with guitarist Peter Koppes fully in the fold since '92's brilliant Priest=Aura, and it definitely shows. While not bad by any means, both 1994's eclectic Sometime Anywhere and '96's somewhat inconsistent Magician Among the Spirits were certainly lacking his finer touch on the guitar to fill in all the loose ends. This time around though, he's clearly back, as the ever-familiar intertwining of guitars courtesy of Pete and melodic-counterpart Marty Willson-Piper create a myriad of beautiful sounds weaving their way all throughout the album. Although Hologram of Baal has neither the thematic polish and mystic quality of Priest=Aura nor the full-on, bombastic energy of '85's Heyday, it is easily a pleaser after a few listens. "Tranquility" soars with thick, ethereal guitars, "No Certainty Attached" kicks in some of the extra overdrive (and a little of Marty's signature guitar style) and "Buffalo" is one of the Church's best candidates for a hit single in years (too bad "Louisiana" beat it to the goal). Other standouts include the gorgeous "Glow-Worm," the darkly plodding "This Is It" and the fantastic "Anaesthesia." The extra cd is an added gift, but it would probably be of little interest to the lukewarm fan (who'd be bored by its 70+ minute length). Starfish is still the most commercially-viable album in the band's history (something which some fans may find a disagreeable quality), but don't write the Church off as an old, dead band. In a world of dull, poser artists where 'alternative' has ceased to hold any sort of meaning anymore, it's a nice relief to know there are still some musicians out there that can keep their heads well above all the trends. It's just too bad that more people don't know about them, but I guess after all the tastes of the 'average' may be just that.

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