T H E
CHURCH
STARFISH REVISITED
The Church 2018: (L to R) Koppes, Kilbey, Powles, Haug
ustralian psychedelic rockers
The Church have been consis-
tently fascinating for an aston-
ishing 38 years. In 2013, the band began
a new chapter by enlisting former
Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug
alongside founding guitarist Peter
Koppes, veteran drummer Tim Powles,
and bassist-frontman Steve Kilbey.
The lineup has produced strong
work, including 2017’s Man Woman Life
Death Infinity. In 2018, however, The
Church returns to celebrate an early
milestone. The band’s fifth album,
Starfish, arrived in 1988, captivating
American radio with the dreamy
“Under the Milky Way” and sinewy
“Reptile.” Kilbey spoke with I.E. from
his home near Sydney before departing
Australia’s spring weather for fall cli-
mates in the northern hemisphere. The
Church perform **Starfish and more at
Chicago's Lincoln Hall on October 17. A IE: Do you think steady fans who’ve
seen The Church year after year might
be as excited to hear ?fresh favorites
like “Undersea” or “Submarine” as
casual fans might be about “Reptile?”
S.K.: I read an interview with Lou Reed
once. He said, “I see my whole career
as a body of work. I started the Velvet
Underground, and here I am – he was
talking about Coney Island Baby –
where everything fits with everything
else. I can take a song from any part I
like.” I don’t think the songs on Starfish
are inherently better or worse than
songs that came before or after them. I
like the idea of playing our whole set to
a brand-new fan and defying him to
tell the difference. “Right, we’ll start
with 'Aura,' then play 'Myrrh,' then
'Toy Head,' then ‘Almost With You’ fol-
lowed by something from Hologram of
Baal, and so on, and see if he could say
which era he thinks they’re from.
IE: You’ve always seemed to be focused
on pursuing new work, without signif-
icant interest in your past. Is this
anniversary tour a good thing from
your perspective?
Steve Kilbey: It’s like Father’s Day or
St. Valentine’s Day – some good stuff
and some bad stuff. I think celebrating
anniversaries is anathema to rock and
roll, which was invented to be about
the moment. It’s a flimsy construct, but
the good outweighs the bad. I think
Starfish is a good album to play in its
entirety. Some people will be taken
back to their teenage youth, and that’s
what they want. IE: I was listening to “Another
Century,” which arrived shortly into
the current US presidency. One line
reminded me of “Ricochet” from 20
years ago. The lyrics are impressionis-
tic but include passing references to
resisting tyrants. You’re not a political
writer, but does the news cycle enter
your songs?
S.K.: If you write songs about current
affairs, what happens in two years?
Billy Bragg made a career of singing
anti-Margaret Thatcher songs. The
moment Thatcher’s gone, do those
songs still have purpose? I would tend
to steer away from current events, but
Continued
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By Jeff Elbel
44 illinoisentertainer.com october
2018