The Church stretch into country and psychedelia on Sky and Hill and Forever

‘This is about as country and western as I get, folks,” laughs bassist/vocalist/founder Steve Kilbey about THE CHURCH’s new track “SKY AND HILL,” which is released today as a double single along with the song “FOREVER.” Taken from their upcoming album LACUNA (release date: 30TH OCTOBER, 2026via Cooking Vinyl), the two singles display the band’s masterful ability to stretch genres. While “Sky And Hill” is an anthemic and soaring track led by acoustic guitar, “Forever” is a dramatic and textural track that follows Ashley Naylor’s front-and-center piano chords. Both songs find the band expanding and exploring new directions while keeping a firm grasp of their trademark psychedelic dreampop in clear view.

Of “Sky And Hill,” Kilbey says, “I wrote this in the garden of Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas one extremely hot afternoon. I thought it was vaguely like a Faces song or something with the acoustic guitar riff which the vocals follow.” Earthy and organic, the song savors the dusty Southwestern ambience without a gallon hat or spurs in sight. “I’m sure some Nashville cat wouldn’t think it’s country at all, but there you go” he grins. “A mélange of styles… and me imagining I'm an alt cowboy. Pretty funny, if you think about it.”

On the flipside, “Forever” captures Kilbey on a crestfallen note, singing plaintively, “As she kissed me goodbye / I said ‘Why are you leaving?” She said, “No, you’re going to go / This is farewell” while Naylor’s piano establishes the wistful tone. “Ash was sitting at the grand piano, playing around with some chords at Arlyn one morning. I joined in making suggestions and we came up with the music,” recalls Kilbey. “That’s him on the very ‘George Harrison’ lead lines too. The lyrics fell out of the sky into my head.” Channeling a little bit of Neil Young-esque atmospherics (“we did a bit of work on the middle-eight and the outro”), the band forges a breathtakingly emotionally-drenched ballad that explodes right before the four-minute mark. “It’s a very different style of vocal performance by me which I hadn’t really done before,” he explains. “It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album too.”

Following the previously released tracks “Sacred Echoes (Part II)”, “Western,” and “Martian Skyline,” “Sky and Hill” and “Forever” add to The Church’s masterclass in songwriting that has defined their ever-evolving and awe-inspiring oeuvre that has stretched from their start in 1980. Celebrating their age-old songsmithery while retaining their very unique and distinct style, NPRpraised, “Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Few bands are like The Church.” SPINadded, “True artists only get better with time... The Church transport you back to the magical, forgone days of authentic alt radio, when inspiration ruled over all else.”

Their 17-track opus, Lacuna, finds the band with a new sense of rejuvenation. With their hugely successful narrative-focused double-punch albums The Hypnogogue (2023) and its companion volume Eros Zeta and The Perfumed Guitars (2024), their international “Singles Tour” reminded fans not only of the band’s breadth but also of their wide-ranging run of singles that began with “The Unguarded Moment” (1981), saw them reach worldwide acclaim with the 1988 triplet of “Under the Milky Way,” “Reptile,” and “Metropolis,” and recaptured the fire with 2022’s “The Hypnogogue” and “C’est La Vie,” and 2023’s “No Other You” and “Realm of Minor Angels.” Opening with the ebb and flow intro of “Lumbini Grove” to the celestial guitar twinkle of “Winter” that hearkens to their earlier works to the drama of the epic final track “Sacred Echoes,” Lacuna clutches reaffirms their title as dreampop pioneers.

Cited by MAGNET as “dreamy psychedelia that will daub your evening with shades of paisley,” 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.  The renowned six-piece line-up is made up of bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; long-time collaborator, drummer and producer Tim Powles, who’s remained a staple across 18 albums since 1994; guitarist Ian Haug, who has been strumming with the band since 2013 and formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger; multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Cain from American alt-rock band Remy Zero who first joined the band as a touring musician before joining the band full time in 2020; Ashley Naylor, one of Australia’s finest guitarists and a long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band; and newest member Nicholas Meredith on drums. Soon entering their fifth decade as a band, The Church remain a treasured creative force.

The new singles “Sky And Hill” and “Forever” are out now and can be streamed HERE. LACUNA will be released 30th October, 2026 via Cooking Vinyl (pre-order link).

LACUNA
Tracklisting

1 Lumbini Grove
2 Western
3 Ferrari
4 Sky River
5 Winter
6 Have You Been Here Before
7 The Lemurian
8 Everytime
9 Sky and Hill
10 Paladin
11 Martian Skyline
12 I Want It
13 The Place of Eternal Spring
14 Rapture
15 Forever
16 Lumbini Theme (Slight Return)
17 Sacred Echoes

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