Sometime Anywhere

Sometime Anywhere
Studio album by The Church
Released	31 May 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)

Sometime Anywhere is the eighth album by The Church released in May 1994 via Arista Records.^[1] 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.^[1]

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 Richard Ploog). Kilbey turned towards a Jack Frost collaboration with Grant McLennan (of The Go-Betweens) and Willson-Piper returned to the studio with United Kingdom group, All About Eve, to record their album, Ultraviolet (October 1992).

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, Stockholm, 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 on violin; Sandy Chick on female voice; Carol Broca-Wander on French female voice; Boris Goudenov on drum loops; Martin Rössell on drums, organ, engineer and co-production on "The Maven". Kilbey's brother Russell Kilbey is credited with studio co-ordination.

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 sound scapes, replaced instead by Eastern tinges, electronic effects and experimental fusion. Sales were less than their previous studio albums and the first single, "Two Places at Once", did not chart. Promotion fell flat as Arista saw insufficient commercial promise in the release. With another less commercially successful album on their hands, Arista did not renew The Church's contract and pulled financial support for a tour. Ambitious plans to have fully accompanied, electric shows were scaled back by Kilbey and Willson-Piper to a short run of acoustic gigs as a duo.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Q	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

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, Somewhere Else, was also issued.^[1] Kilbey later utilised the second track's title, "The Time Being", for his weblog's name.

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