The Church

Sometime Anywhere

The Church show you how it's done

Review Score:

(10/10)
I have to admit that when I first listened to Sometime Anywhere, I wasn't entirely sold on it. All of the songs seemed so long and the music was about as moody as moody could get. Plus Peter Koppes was no longer in the band. The Church had been reduced to Steve Kilbey, Marty Willson-Piper, and some session help.

But because I was and still am a fan of the Church, I listened to it persistently. And what would you know, the album absolutely blossomed into a 77 minute dream with milky guitars, filtered voices, cooing background singers, soaring violins, and whatever else I can't think of at the moment. Steve and Marty have spontaneity in their chemistry together, and Sometime Anywhere plays to all of their strengths. From the swirling opener Day of the Dead, to the whirling instrumental Eastern, to the narcoleptic Dead Man's Dream, things keep popping out of the woodwork to amaze you, even after you've listened to it a few times. You even get a bit of sublime volume with The Maven and Angelica.

But if you can, see if you can track down a copy with the bonus disc. That disc is a 7 song EP called Somewhere Else. It includes one song that was recorded many years ago when Ploog was still the drummer (Draught) and six songs that were left off of Sometime Anywhere. Two songs were supposed to be on the album, (The Time Being and Cut in Two instead of Business Woman and Authority) but Arista insisted on omitting them.

Sometime Anywhere is the definition of a musical journey. When I first arrived at college, I was surrounded by guys who thought it was dorky of me to delve into a CD and allow myself to be taken by the power of the music. Well I don't care! This is for the musical dreamer. Enjoy.

More Reviews: