The Church have today released their new video and single titled ‘Sacred Echoes (Part Two)’ via Cooking Vinyl Limited. Having been a fan of The Church since the heyday of, well, ‘Heyday’, I have always been in awe and wonder at how steady, progressive, and interesting The Church have consistently been in a span of over four decades. Without a missed beat or a lapse in creativity, there is a feeling of a new chapter being written in this band’s repertoire.
‘Sacred Echoes (Part Two)’ is more than a creative turning point. It’s a next page of a new chapter from a set of artists that are well past pleasing an audience and solely into exploring what can be done. A beautiful marriage of anthology and atmosphere creating a soundscape to get lost in and bonded to. Retrospection for the introvert and muse for the musician in all of us, this is poetry set to a score that gives anyone inspiration for the possibilities.
About ‘Sacred Echoes (Part Two)’
Celebrating 45 years as a band, Australian psychedelic dream pop legends The Church continue to evolve and transform, remaining not only relevant but prolific as well. With a major return to form and a resurgence in popularity, the post-punk pioneers return with a brand-new single, “Sacred Echoes (Part Two)” that is released today, November 7, 2025. The gorgeously textured track builds upon a piano intro that ebbs and crests into a dramatic crescendo.
“Bleak and yet beautiful ‘Sacred Echoes (Part Two)’ is unlike any previous Church song ever with its almost orchestral climaxes and its sombre mood,” says bassist/vocalist/founder Steve Kilbey. “The lyrics and voice are the weariness at the point where hope and hopelessness merge. The music is by turns delicate and sparse turning into a churning monstrous racket. Intense, forlorn and exultant!”
Directed by Australian visual director and musician Donald Baldie, the accompanying video brings to life the photography of renowned American photographer, the late Dorothea Lange whose images humanized the stories of family strife during The Great Depression.
“Sacred Echoes (Part Two)” follows the release of The Church’s first thematic album The Hypnogogue and its companion album Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars, which tracks the loose dystopian narrative of aging rockstar trying to reclaim his faded glory through the use of a dream extractor, “The Hypnogogue.” Generating some of the best reviews of their career, these two albums helped grow the band’s audience significantly with venues appropriately increasing in size and capacity.
Check out our exclusive interview with Steve Kilby HERE.
SPIN named The Hypnogogue as one of the 2023’s best albums, noting that it “might be one of the most underrated and overlooked of the year, a gorgeous neo-psychedelia triumph, taking you on The Church’s signature alt-stargazing journey, though current and uncompromising.” The Arts STL noted that “there aren’t many artists 40 years and 26 albums into their career as creatively vibrant as The Church are. This isn’t just one of The Church’s best latter-day albums, it’s simply one of their best.”
The Church will be returning to North America in the Summer 2026 for “The Singles / 1980 – 2025” tour (dates below). Initially postponed earlier this year, the tour was rescheduled beginning June 5th in Seattle before concluding in Denver on July 11th. The five week tour celebrates their career-spanning oeuvre of tracks including “The Unguarded Moment” (from 1980’s Of Skins and Heart), “Tantalized” (from 1986’s Heyday), “Ripple” (from 1992’s Priest=Aura), “C’est La Vie” (from 1992’s The Hypnogogue), “Metropolis” (from 1990’s Gold Afternoon Fix) and of course “Reptile” and “Under the Milky Way” (from 1988’s international breakthrough album Starfish).
About The Church
Starting out in 1980, The Church have continued to expand their highly cinematic and atmospheric blend of indie rock, shimmering post-punk, icy dreampop and psychedelic post-rock without retreading their steps. Their expansive music career yielded a string of hit songs including “Under the Milky Way,” “Reptile,” “The Unguarded Moment” and “Almost With You” amongst others and their equally stellar live shows have been deemed “spectacular” by MAGNET Magazine, citing their “dreamy psychedelia that will daub your evening with shades of paisley.”
The Church’s epic five-piece line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with long-time collaborator Tim Powles, drummer and producer across 17 albums since ’94; guitarist Ian Haug, formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, who joined the band in 2013 and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Cain (Remy Zero) since 2020. The band have also recruited Ashley Naylor, long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band and one of Australia’s finest and most respected guitarists (Even, The Grapes, The Stems).
Featured image by Adam Nicholas.
LINKS:
https://www.thechurchband.net
https://linktr.ee/thechurchband
https://www.facebook.com/thechurchband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE4pG8VtygweNYuwXjJVpiA
https://www.instagram.com/thechurch_band
