The Church

Hologram Of Baal

A dramatic improvement

Review Score:

(6/10)
I'll admit that I joined the Church band wagon with the rest of the world the first time I heard the wonderful "Under the Milky Way". What makes me different from most band wagoneers (in this instance) is that I stuck with the band. I purchased their 5 previous (and excellent) full length albums, both b-side compilations (also excellent), and a myriad of solo albums (note: just get the Steve Kilbey ones). I also stuck with them into the future. Most people don't know that they've released an album every two years since 1988's Starfish. I thought Gold Afternoon Fix (1990) was pretty bad. On the other hand Priest = Aura (1992) was truly outstanding. Sometime Anywhere (1994) was a bit on the meandering side but definitely magical. Then came Magician among the Spirits (1996). I thought that this group was done. This was the first post-Arista release and it may be perhaps the "worst-album-from-a-band-that-I-usually-like" of all time. When I saw Hologram of Baal I thought, forget it. There is no way. Actually I thought more than that, but it's not entirely relevant or printable. So what suckered me in? Was it the cover, the curiosity, or the promise of redemption? No. Actually it was two things. First, how could I not keep the collection complete? After all they already have their own row in my CD rack. Second, there was a bonus CD. Well, I am quite a sucker for bonus CDs so I thought, what the heck. (NOTE: this bonus CD is not necessarily part of what Amazon sells. I got it as a promotional item at a record store.) So I bought the CD and put it on skeptically. As you will note by the 3 star rating, I have not loved it from the first listen, but it is pretty good. Louisiana is a really good song, as is Anaesthesia. They have regained their lyrical focus (as far as Steve Kilbey's lyrics can be described as focused.) The music is the best effort since Priest. There is little that I would describe as filler. The recording is good for being largely self produced. In summary... They'll never regain the pop status that they had in 1988, but that's not a bad thing. They seem to labor better in obscurity. They dwell in subconscious nether-regions that few bands are brave enough to venture into (for fear of suffering a similar fate and getting dropped by their labels). This record makes me glad that they are still alive and well. After a brief but horrible detour they're back. (BTW, the bonus CD is not worth pursuing unless free. 70 minutes of free form improvisation from a group of musicians better suited to writing and playing structured songs.)

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