GOLD AFTERNOON FIX

[Seventh in a series] Having settled into "progressive mode," the band is now "spreading its wings," experimenting with different possibilities, mostly highly successfully (though the "atmopsheres" here are not quite as lush as they were on "Starfish," or would be on their next album, "Priest=Aura"). "Pharoah" is the first song that can definitively be called The Church's "sound." In addition to all the musical elements that now increasingly define that sound, Kilbey is getting bolder as a "storyteller," using (and sometimes deliberately "molding") the songs to "fit" the concept of the lyrics. "Metropolis" is a wonderful, slightly lighter arrangement, including a nice guitar riff. "Terra Nova Cain" has a neat arrangement, including a bizarre shuffle-like chorus, and a nice, if short, instrumental break. "City" is simpler, with a more straightforward sound, and seems to some degree like a throwback to the band's earlier sound. "Monday Morning" (not on the original album) is actually a nicely-handled ballad (and the band would return to the guitar-drum-tambourine sound soon, to great effect). "Russian Autumn Heart" is an almost U2-ish composition, and gives Marty Willson-Piper a chance to test his vocal abilities (which would become considerable on "Sometime Anywhere"). "Essence" is a good example of the more "straightforward" approach in some of the band's compositions, while maintaining the essence of their sound. "You're Still Beautiful" represents the band at its most delightful, with a Bowie-esque arrangement and some of Kilbey's most sardonically mocking lyrics. The deceptively simple "Disappointment" is actually a direct precursor of an approach that would serve the band to phenomenal effect on its next, breakthrough album ("Priest=Aura"). "Transient" would have been just as comfortable on "Heyday," as it has the same approach, sensibilities and production, and gives Peter Koppes a chance to stretch his vocal cords (not quite as successfully as Willson-Piper). "Laughing" (not on the original album) is a simple song, but contains elements that would be used later by the band to excellent effect. "Fading Away" is a nice return to the band's approach and sound as it would come to serve them best in the future. Overall, a very listenable album, as good in its way as "Heyday." And yet little on "Heyday" or "Gold Afternoon Fix" quite prepares one for the incredible leap the band makes on their next effort, "Priest=Aura."

Gold Afternoon Fix was after Starfish and Heyday another one which failed to hit my attraction. Its production is quite poor and all the songs are rather mediocre.

The opener Pharoah is a slightly dramatic sounding song but not very much convincing. Metropolis has a catchy chorus and some fine guitar and actually is a potential airplay hit which did not work out either. Monday Morning is, at least for me, the nicest one of the album, but without any relation to Prog at all. Russian Autumn Heart, Essence and You're Still Beautiful are just ordinary Indie Rock songs, not bad, but not exciting as well. Disappointment is another very mellow song with some spanish-type acoustic guitar, the second of my favorites on this album. Very beautiful, but for sure not progressive! About Tracks 10 to 12 there's nothing worth mentioning. The last one Grind is my third favorite and one which is a bit outstanding of the rest with a nice acoustic piano part.

Altogether there are three songs on this album I quite like, but overall it's not really a very good album I have to say. I'd recommend it only to die-hard fans and everyone else I'd like to advice to start with Priest=Aura and Forget Yourself if you like to get a real good impression of the band.

This album repeats in some sense the artistic spirit shown in the previous one, "Starfish". Nevertheless, while this last one was kind of successful, "Gold Afternoon Fix", as one of its songs claims was a bit of dissapointment. "Starfish" had its weaknesses, as I mentioned in my review of this album, but they were balanced in some way with a set of excellent songs. "Gold Afternoon Fix", repeats these weaknesses, but fails to cover them, since a lot of the songs are covered with certain and suspicious aura of mediocrity.

I mean, this album is worth a listen. There are pieces of the atmospheric and alluring sound which gave this band a name. Songs like "Pharoah", "Terra Nova Cain", "You're still beautiful" or even "Transient" are quite enjoyable songs. But, in overall terms there are not 'big pieces' here that could make the day, like "Under the milky way", for example. The choice for a single here, "Metropolis", is OK, but it doesn't have enough strength to be considered as an anthem, and this is exactly the problem of many of the songs from this album: their lack of strength. I don't know, maybe it was due to a lack of inspiration or to the difficult situation the band was going through, but it was clear that this album didn't fulfill the expectations which were put into it.

Here is an album that, if anything, is consistent, which is a rarer quality in prog-tinged music than I would like. I would hesitate to even call this prog-related, but it has its moments. That said, Gold Fix Afternoon is an enjoyable album from The Church, mainly because the guitars sound phenomenal. The singer seems anesthetized but sounds great otherwise. This is an album of simple songs but excellent execution for the most part.

"Pharaoh" A sedated sound, full of washes of noise over acoustic and electric guitar, is a great opening song. The lead singing works over low, droning vocals at certain points. It's an excellent song, one well worth hearing.

"Metropolis" This is another fine track, with a fresh sound and tasteful use of guitars. It has a memorable chorus and several good hooks. It is probably the best song here.

"Terra Nova Cain" While the music is highly interesting, the drums (particularly the snare) sounds poorly recorded (perhaps that gives it part of the appeal). It's my opinion that the vocal melody doesn't go with the music much at all, and sounds lazily sung.

"City" When I first heard this song, it made me think of Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds; catchy, accessible, pleasing, and on the minimalistic side in terms of instrumentation.

"Monday Morning" This is a pleasant, albeit forgettable, track. It does have some nice instrumentation and would probably make a decent dance song

"Russian Autumn Heart" This is the point where the album starts to drag for me. While it does pick things up a bit (having a bit more energy), and while there is a great guitar solo in the middle, it makes me think of a theme song for a show like Friends.

"Essence" If the previous song sounded like a TV show theme song, this one does even more so. However, the lyrics are a little on the weird side. The end of the song is an attempt to be interesting, but it is an annoying one.

"You're Still Beautiful" Nothing special here- this song has a terribly boring melody, trite lyrics, and nothing noteworthy to speak of in terms of music (the lead guitar had potential, but it is too repetitive).

"Disappointment" Dark and lovely acoustic guitar and slippery bass slither through the chords as the low singing of the lead vocalist breaks through. Despite the title, this song doesn't lead to that feeling.

"Transient" This is my least favorite track- it has brooding vocals in the beginning, and otherwise sounds like a dark, 1980s pop song gone bad. The singer almost sounds drunk, like he's had too many and his friends pressure him to perform karaoke. Incidentally, the lead guitar is some of the best on the album.

"Laughing" This is one more oasis in a desert of subpar songwriting and lethargic execution. It's still certainly laid back (the singer sounds even drunker), but it's still a good song, partly because this one is mixed so well and has some stellar vocal arrangements and fantastic guitar work, both on acoustic and electric.

"Fading Away" If Kate Bush were a man with a deep voice, and David Gilmour got with her (him) in the early 1990s, this would be their song. It's pleasantly simple with some great lead guitar. Other than that, there's not much to it.

"Grind" The final track once more shows off the first-rate guitar work (again, both on acoustic and electric). Unfortunately, the lead vocals don't fit really, even if the backup vocals are a nice touch. The guitar solo is quite simply one of my favorites on the album.

There are little to be excited about this album. While the band developed a fine and dark rock with their previous "Starfish", this one is just a weak attempt to release a sub-sub par Bunnymen album (at least for several tracks, while the other ones are not even of this level).

There are hardly any song to be considered as a highlight and to be placed on the forefront of this average album. Even if some keyboards have their place in here, one can't say that some prog mood is prevailing.

So: nothing really prog, nothing really rock. What's left? Nothing great, I'm afraid. It sounds that the career of "The Church" is made of ups and downs and lacks of focus. Even if "Terra Nova Cain" has its own merits.

This album is a (too) long trip into some music that has been passed for quite a long time (new wave in the nineties?). No surprise, no fun, no pleasure unfortunately. Rather useless in their very long discography. If you're looking for some freshness, I can only recommend their debut. But this one is best avoided.

It is high time to propose some new angles to their late seventies sound. The worse is being achieved during "Disappointment". I really wonder how close of the reality lots of bands can express the way their music sounds like.

Two stars for this anonymous work even if the closing "Grind" has a desperate and oppressive feel which is quite welcome.

Doomed to be somewhat overlooked as the album that came between the much better-regarded Starfish and Priest = Aura, Gold Afternoon Fix finds the Church in a slightly more conventional mode than either of those two albums - not completely, but enough to give the sense that they are coasting just a little. At nearly 10 years into their career, they'd seen their jangle pop sound go from being cutting edge to a widely-imitated subgenre, and perhaps that's what makes this album feel a little slight - it doesn't quite have the edge of experimentation which allowed other efforts to stand apart from the sea of imitators.