The Church - The Hypnogogue (2023) [Hi-Res]

Australian psych-rock legends THE CHURCH emerge with their first new studio album in six years. The bands 26th album gleams with potential hits every bit as chiming and charming as their definitive early work. Anchored by long-time collaborator Tim Powles, drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94 and buttressed by the newly invigorated triple-guitar threat of Jeffery Cain (Remy Zero), Ashley Naylor (Even, The Stems), and ex-Powderfinger stylist Ian Haug. In the end, it's founding member, Steve Kilbey's ethereal pneumatic warble and - by his own faux-journo-speak definition in the lyrics - "reptilian bass": that hold sway, especially as the melodies get more psychedelic and prog-rock intricate on "Antarctica," "Ascendance," and the six-minute epic "Succulent." Often seen as the godfathers of an Australian psychedelic scene generating such internationally successful names as Tame Impala and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Church have continued to evolve their sound.