CD: COOKCD 183
RELEASE DATE: 1999
LABEL: Cooking Vinyl

01. The Faith Healer
02. It's All Too Much
03. Hiroshima Mon Amour
04. The Popoise Song
05. Decadence
06. The Endless Sea
07. Friction
08. All The You Dudes
09. Silver Machine
10. Cortez The Killer

The Church have been navigating through seas of sonic tranquility since the early 80's, selling records without selling out. Driven by the Rickenbacher riffing of Marty Willson-Piper and the often-melancholy mythological musings of Steve Kilbey, this Australian quartet have maintained a loyal following and continue to create edgy, atmospheric pop. Their latest, A Box of Birds, is a cover compilation that came together after the band finished their most recent tour. Clocking in at over an hour, this collection captures The Church translating tunes from Neil Young's 'Cortez The Killer' to George Harrison's 'It's All Too Much', with many rarities between. The opening track, the relentless 'The Faith Healer, ' establishes an infectious pace. While a strong effort, this release isn't as spirited as the band's original song cycles tended to be.