Seance (album)

Seance
Studio album by The Church
Released	May 1983
Recorded	Summer 1983, 301 Studios, Sydney
Genre	Post-punk
Length	56:34
Label	EMI Parlophone
Producer	The Church and John Bee
The Church chronology
Singsongs (1982) Seance (1983) Remote Luxury (ep or album) (1984)

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Seance (1983) is the third album by The Church. It was a somewhat unexpected about-face from The Blurred Crusade's jangling psychedelia and upbeat rock. Considerably more atmospheric and brooding in feel, the songwriting employed a greater emphasis on keyboard and string effects with the guitars taking largely textural roles on some songs. While numerous tracks have become fan favorites over the years, the album saw considerably less success in Australia than previous releases and had limited exposure internationally. Apart from the psychedelic noise experiment "Travel By Thought," which prefigures some of the extended semi-improvised tracks of Church songs of the 21st century, all songs were written solely by Steve Kilbey.

Most notorious among the fanbase and band members themselves is the heavily-treated drum sound, the work of mixing engineer Nick Launay. This somewhat fatal flaw has resulted in Seance being considered sub-par by some followers and given it a comparatively dated sound. Despite this frequent criticism, the tracks "One Day," "It's No Reason" and "Now I Wonder Why" are often considered standouts among the band's material. Despite the difficulties, the album yielded two minor hits - "It's No Reason" and "Electric Lash" - and stayed in English independent charts for several months.

In 2010, Second Motion Records released a 30th Anniversary remaster with bonus tracks (although the title is a misnomer since it was 27 years between the original release and the remaster).

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Kilbey, except where noted.

1. Fly - 2:09
2. One Day - 4:37
3. Electric - 6:02
4. It's No Reason - 5:50
5. Travel by Thought (Kilbey/Koppes/Ploog/Willson-Piper) - 4:34
6. Disappear? - 5:47
7. Electric Lash - 4:24
8. Now I Wonder Why - 5:39
9. Dropping Names - 2:58
10. It Doesn't Change - 5:56
11. Someone Special - 4:10
12. Autumn Soon - 4:28

Credits

• Steve Kilbey: Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, String Arrangements
• Peter Koppes: Guitar, Hammond Organ
• Marty Willson-Piper: Guitars and Vocals
• Richard Ploog: Drums, Bongos, Tambourine
• Michelle Parker: Backing Vocals on "It's No Reason"
• Russell Kilbey: Harmonica on "Now I Wonder Why"