The Church - Uninvited, Like the Clouds

These days it's hard to stay relevant in the music industry for very long. The cultivation of the "band" has all but evaporated, leaving us with disposable music for an even less loyal listener. So imagine my surprise when The Church manage to do exactly that 25 years after first forming. From their debut album Of Skin & Hearts released in 1981 to their current offering Uninvited, Like The Clouds, these four Aussie musicians have navigated through fairly fickle waters only to re-emerge album after album sounding fresh and truly inspired. Uninvited, Like the Clouds posseses a more subdued, slightly less shimmering sound than their last masterpiece, 2002's After Everything Now This. That album managed to create a graceful blanket of sound, while this tends to rely more on straight-forward production to get its point across. From the plaintive, opening strains of "Block," to the swooning choruses of 'Space Needle" and "Easy," The Church work hard to transform simple songs about love and religion into startling minuettes of revelation. While the mainstream landscape has changed significantly since their breakthrough hit; 1986's "Under The Milky Way" off the album Starfish, one thing remains unchanged: The Church have their collective pulse firmly planted on something very special: talent. [www.thechurchband.com]