The Church, self-proclaimed art-rockers from Australia, have been
around for about 25 years, and while they have had their hits and
misses, it’s too bad Forget Yourself, originally released in July of
2003, is the album they chose to release as a dual disc. Though it is
not bad musically, it seems flatter than past albums and this in itself
hampers the ability of the 5.1 mix to blow anyone away.
Of course, it’s easy to understand why they chose a more recent album
to mix down, because the quality of the recording was obviously better.
It would for the most part seem slightly silly to provide a 5.1 mix to
something that was recorded on analog 20 years ago, but I’d love to
have someone try.
As with other The Church albums,
Forget Yourself tends to slide from song to song in such a way that if
you’re not watching the player, it’s difficult to tell that the tracks
have changed. Employing the proverbial sonic wall, The Church come at
you with lots of overlapping sounds that don’t really stick out as
individual instruments but rather hit the ears as one solid pulse that
has various components to it. “Song in Space” and “The Theatre and Its
Double” are two of the better examples of this. Songs like “Sealine”
and “Telepath” reflect more of a traditional rock sound, though one
that is clearly influenced by a U.K. mentality.
Due in large part to their longevity, The Church have made quite an
impact on other bands and many a listener, though in many circles they
remain somewhat anonymous. Though it is safe to say that most people,
who might claim not to have heard The Church, will immediately say,
“Oh, this is them? I know this song,” when played some of their more
famous numbers.
Steve Kilbey’s vocals are of the husky though not overtly emotional
variety, something that has been copied many a time, though mostly
without success. (It is slightly unusual for a bassist to also be the
lead vocalist.) Guitarists Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes are
talented, but this album, due to its somewhat complacent nature, tends
to throw them more into backing roles rather than exhibiting their true
talents for coming up with some gorgeously thick sounds. Even Tim
Powles’ percussion seems a bit flatter than usual, especially on the
almost interesting “See Your Lights.” “Lay Low” brings things around
again, sliding the listener up and down many sound peaks and valleys,
seducing you to pull up a comfy chair in the middle of your speakers
and get lost in the music.
Generally, The Church is best as mood-enhancing or -defying music.
Their sound is mellow and intense at the same time, thick with
individual sounds with other noise thrown in. They were best in the
early 1990s, but they still can bowl you over with some extremely
moving rock.
Sound As
with most 5.1 mixes, this one is well done and dutifully surrounds and
ensconces the listener in music. The Church is a particularly good band
to have in 5.1, because they have so many overlapping and intersecting
sounds. They are one of those groups that has been referred to as
providing a wall of sound, so it’s nice to have that wall all around
you. The tweaking necessary to convert to 5.1 has the effect of
breaking up some of the bass in this case, so that it seems to warble
slightly between the subwoofer and the rear speakers more than it
should. This might be intentional, but it is so noticeable at times,
and disconcerting, that I doubt it. It was probably just a result of
pulling apart the tracks and sticking them into the six channels. This
is somewhat nitpicking; due to the quality of The Church music, the
result here is a fine dual disc. I managed to listen to the original
CD, and the CD side of the dual-disc sounds exactly the same.
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