Ominous and full of inky depths, the Church’s new song drills down just as far as their breakout song “Under the Milky Way” once soared.
“Vanishing Man,” which advances the forthcoming Further/Deeper, is part of the Australian band’s first new album since 2009’s jazzier Untitled No. 23. The Church has always been dense, but often more shimmering. More recently, they’d delved into the stirring complexities of prog, but perhaps never with more portent. The video for “Vanishing Man,” featuring paintings from singer Steve Kilbey, is just as dark.
Chalk these changes up to the departure of Marty Willson-Piper, who’s been replaced by new guitarist Ian Haug of Powderfinger, and a swirling sonic mix that sometimes engulfs the Church’s lyrics in a torrent of twilit intrigue. Elsewhere, Further/Deeper — due February 3, 2015, via +180 Records — promises more upbeat offerings. But not here.
Kilbey, Haug, Peter Koppes and Tim Powles let their muses guide them through a furious period of creativity, as Further/Deeper was created over just eight days in 2013. You can sense the Church starting, perhaps, from a place of melancholy on “Vanishing Man,” in a kind of turbulent goodbye to Willson-Piper.
It will be interesting to hear what emotions rise up next.
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