Misplaced Pages

The Hypnogogue
Studio album by The Church
Released	24 February 2023 (2023-02-24)
Studio	Airlock Studios, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Communicating Vessels Studio Damien Gerard Studios, Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Spacejunk, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genre	Psychedelic rock
Length	64:40
Language	English
Label	Communicating Vessels
Producer	Steve Kilbey
The Church chronology
Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017) The Hypnogogue (2023) Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars (2024)

The Hypnogogue is a 2023 studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band The Church.

Reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Hypnogogue received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 from eight critic scores. Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Matt Collar writing that the band manages to write "more sophisticated and mature versions of their classic material" on this concept album. Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter gave this release 3.5 out of 5 stars and writing that "the quintet creates fluid moods, moving in idiosyncratic directions while maintaining the shadowy gaze that has defined The Church's style". In Glide Magazine, Doug Collette writes that "this latest work would function effectively as an introduction to this rock and roll institution from Down Under" for displaying their "vintage sound including blended acoustic guitars". At PopMatters, John Garratt gave this album a 9 out of 10, calling it "another stunning record" by the band. Dom Gourlay of Under the Radar scored The Hypnogogue a 7.5 out of 10, stating that it "reaffirms why this band have been held in high esteem for so long" and the two ending tracks elevate "The Hypnagogue to even dizzier heights among the higher echelons of The Church's already impressive canon".

PopMatters ranked this the 23rd best rock album of the year. Editors at Spin included this among the albums of the year.

Track listing

All songs written by The Church.

1. "Ascendence" – 5:38
2. "C'est la vie" – 4:55
3. "I Think I Knew" – 3:57
4. "Flickering Lights" – 4:50
5. "The Hypnogogue" – 6:13
6. "Albert Ross" – 3:54
7. "Thorn" – 4:12
8. "Aerodrome" – 4:32
9. "These Coming Days" – 4:37
10. "No Other You" – 4:10
11. "Succulent" – 6:48
12. "Antarctica" – 5:34
13. "Second Bridge" – 5:20

Personnel

The Church

• Jeffrey Cain – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, additional engineering, co-production, photography
• Ian Haug – guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Kilbey – bass guitar, keyboards, guitar, lead vocals, production, inside cover painting, photography
• Ashley Naylor – guitar, backing vocals
• Tim Powles – drums, percussion, guitar, backing vocals, additional engineering, co-production

Additional personnel

• Andrew Beck – tracking, engineering, co-production
• Carl Breitkreuz – design
• Richard Bruxner – photography
• Ted Howard – additional engineering
• David Ives – masteringat 101 Mastering
• Roger Mason – strings, additional keyboards
• Kip McClanahan – executive production
• Christiana Monored – cover collage
• Georgia St. James – backing vocals on "No Other You"
• Tim Powles – additional engineering, co-production
• Darrell Thorp – mixing
• Brad Timko – additional engineering

See also

• List of 2023 albums

References

1. "The Hypnogogue by The Church Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
2. Collar, Matt (n.d.). "The Church – The Hypnogogue". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
3. Horowitz, Hal (23 April 2023). "Review: THE CHURCH Defines Style on 'The Hypnogogue'". American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
4. Collete, Doug (24 February 2023). "The Church Keeps It Dramatic & Lush On 'The Hypnogogue'". Album Reviews. Glide Magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
5. Garratt, John (28 February 2023). "The Church: The Hypnogogue". Album Reviews. PopMatters. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
6. Gourlay, Dom (23 May 2023). "The Church: The Hypnogogue (Communicating Vessels)". Music. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
7. "The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2023". Lists. PopMatters. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
8. "Our Editors Pick Their Albums of the Year". Features >> Our Editors Pick Their Albums of the Year. Spin. 12 December 2023. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

External links

• The Hypnogogue at Discogs (list of releases)
• The Hypnogogue at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

• 2023 albums
• The Church (band) albums
• 2020s concept albums