Sometime Anywhere

Sometime Anywhere
Studio album by The Church
Released	May 31, 1994
Recorded	1994
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	76:50
Label	Arista
Producer	The Church, Dare Mason
The Church chronology
Priest=Aura (1992) Sometime Anywhere (1994) Magician Among the Spirits (1996)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Q	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Piero Scaruffi	6/10[4]

Sometime Anywhere is an album by The Church released in May 1994 via Arista Records. After 1992's Priest=Aura, Peter Koppes departed the band and replacement drummer Jay Dee Daugherty found other work, leaving The Church down to its two remaining founders, Steve Kilbey and Marty Willson-Piper.

With The Church's future uncertain, members took time off to focus on other projects. Koppes began to establish a solo career with his new group, the Well (including former band mate Ploog). Kilbey turned towards another Jack Frost collaboration with Grant McLennan (of The Go-Betweens) and Willson-Piper returned to the studio with All About Eve to record their album, Ultraviolet.

Despite the loss of Koppes, Arista stood by their contract and backed another recording session. Upon finishing their side projects, Kilbey and Willson-Piper decided to write new material. Initial attempts to recreate 'The Church sound' with Daugherty bore little result, and it became clear that he had no intention of staying on as a permanent member. Parting ways after the fruitless sessions, the remaining two began to approach their music from a different angle. Abandoning the long-established roles and stylistic elements, Kilbey and Willson-Piper started a creative process more based in experimentation, spontaneity and electronica.

Early in 1994, the two hired additional musicians and brought in Willson-Piper's childhood friend Andy 'Dare' Mason to produce, record and mix. The band now expanded their sound into hitherto uncharted areas. The album was recorded at Sydney's Karmic Hit Studios and mixed at Karmic Hit and Studio 301; the exception being "The Maven" which was recorded and mixed at Fryshuset, Stockhol, Sweden. New Zealand drummer Tim Powles was hired for the sessions, after having already played on Jack Frost's project with Kilbey. Song structure was freer, with each musician playing multiple tracks on various instruments, to be cut down and refined as pieces later. The two likened the approach to a sculptor's creative process, gradually taking shape as work went on. Although considered temporary at the time, by 1996 Powles became a permanent band member. Kilbey and Willson-Piper sang and played all instruments except Powles (incorrectly credited as "Tim Powell") on drums; Darren Ryan (drums on "My Little Problem" and additional loops); Linda Ryan (violin); Sandy Chick (female voice); Carol Broca-Wander (French female voice); Boris Goudenov (drumloops); Martin Rossell (drums, organ, engineer and co-production on "The Maven"). Steve Kilbey's brother Russell is credited with studio co-ordination.

The resulting album, Sometime Anywhere, released in May 1994, was generally well-received and peaked into the Top 30. It is described as a "rich, dark, epic release which picked up where Priest=Aura left off, with lush, lengthy tracks". Gone were the guitar-based soundscapes, replaced instead by Eastern tinges, electronic effects and experimental fusion. Sales, however, were paltry and the first single, "Two Places at Once", went nowhere. Promotion fell flat as Arista saw no commercial promise in the release. With yet another consecutive flop on their hands, Arista refused to renew The Church's contract and pulled financial support for a tour. Ambitious plans to have fully accompanied, electric shows were quickly scaled back by Kilbey and Willson-Piper to a short run of acoustic gigs as a duo.

Track listing

1. "Day of the Dead" – 6:45
2. "Lost My Touch" – 6:31 (co-written Kilbey/Willson-Piper/Goudenov)
3. "Loveblind" – 6:24 (co-written Kilbey/Willson-Piper/Goudenov)
4. "My Little Problem" – 7:18
5. "The Maven" – 6:48
6. "Angelica" – 5:07 (sung by Steve Kilbey & Marty Willson-Piper)(Co-written Kilkbey/Willson-Piper/Mason)
7. "Lullaby" – 2:59
8. "Eastern" – 3:47 (instrumental)
9. "Two Places at Once" – 7:53 (sung by Steve Kilbey & Marty Willson-Piper)
10. "Business Woman" – 4:30
11. "Authority" – 5:08
12. "Fly Home" – 8:43 (sung by Marty Willson-Piper)
13. "The Dead Man's Dream" – 4:57

A limited edition bonus disc called Somewhere Else was also issued. Kilbey later utiliised the title of the second track, "The Time Being" as the name of his web blog.

1. "Drought" – 3:18
2. "The Time Being" – 4:34
3. "Leave Your Clothes On" – 4:48
4. "Cut in Two" – 4:55 (sung by Steve Kilbey, with Marty Willson-Piper interjections)
5. "The Myths You Made" – 4:33 (sung by Marty Willson-Piper)
6. "Freeze to Burn" – 3:54
7. "Macabre Tavern" – 3:52

References