The Church – Priest = Aura

Disappointing repress from unknown (digital) source.
Instead of MOV, I wish Intervention Records had done this in the same amazing way they just did Starfish... from the Analog Master.

I just picked my copy up, pressing #76. Sounds great to me. Brushed it and playback was very nice, with a stray click in a couple spots. I'll machine clean it. MOV is always welcome in my collection.

MOV reissue due March 26th/2021 on swirl colored double vinyl.

Hypnotic, surreal, moody, self reflective, intense, psychedelic, a sound track of sorts, way too long, excessive filler ... all these statements could easily describe the release of Priest = Aura by The Church, and in the end, no matter what one can say for or against this album, there are enough strong songs to make it a fine outing.

One of the biggest issues is that for the first time the group began thinking in terms of compact disc musical length, instead of vinyl album length. Without having to concern themselves with two sides at twenty minutes each, they could now direct their efforts toward more lofty lengthy displays of roaming material; though I'll freely admit that all of this material was not structurally sound and often roamed for too long. Nevertheless the stage was set, and with the release of Somewhere, Anywhere to follow, you're able to see how the band was gathering the finer nuances of this recording, along with that of Starfish, and stepped forward as the undisputed rulers of Album = Trip.

You won’t find the hit single on this release, as none was designed and they made a concerted effort to promote this album as a conceptual release. For longtime fans like myself this construct was more then welcomed, though for fans who were hearing the music of The Church for the first time, or based solely on the release of Starfish, an album filled with singles, I’m more than sure that people were scratching their heads, wondering what this band was all about, and how this rather sketchy release could have followed Starfish. Again, all of this was just fine for me, after all, I know that I’m a musical snob about some things, and The Church were very high on my list.

The album floated in much darker waters (as if that were possible), the guitars and lyrics seriously curved my thinking with atmospheric gatherings that hugged the floor, swirling at my feet rising like an evening mist, while hanging in the air like low sonic clouds just above my head, leaving me only the most narrow perspective of my own reality from which to assure myself that I was still physically rooted in this planet, where without that window I’m sure I would be lost forever in a type of continuous tape loop.

Regardless, The Church found themselves in the middle of an untraditional step forward, one that embraced the psychedelics they had been consuming, and when they came out the other side with the stunning Somewhere Anywhere, they didn't hesitate stumble or faulted, where they managed to touch the sky, turn water into wine, and bless the world with one of the most integral hypnotic lysergic vision ever put to vinyl. All of that being said, I'd be remiss if I in any way suggested that Priest = Aura was merely a stepping stone, because some fine material dose tumble out, meaning that there's no way I'd ever miss the chance of having this music in my collection, or roaming eternally through my head.

Review by Jenell Kesler

In any form of teleportation ritual, a medium is required to know any possible state of conclusion or reckoning. How one channels into this is dependent upon high familiarity with the preferred medium… and the traveler intent on knowing, and knowing his intent.

This startling achievement, a veritable firmament replete with guitarists’ lush, surreal landscapes... colliding with the drummer’s netherworlds of both force and entropy... immersed in the sarcastic, dry wit and incorrigible imagination of the singer... galvanized with the affinity and intuition of the producer... is high-handedness without hubris, swagger without vanity.

So often even the best-chosen words slip away from any meaningful service. It is then you are left only with a revelatory knowing.

Listen. Then listen again. Patience with the medium is rewarded. And those that can fathom these depths will be transformed.