The Hypnogogue
2023 studio album by The Church
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The Hypnogogue is the 26th studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released on 24 February 2023.
- Damien Gerard (Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales)
- Spacejunk (Sydney, New South Wales)
- Communicating Vessels (Birmingham, Alabama)
- Airlock (Brisbane, Queensland)
| The Hypnogogue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 February 2023 | |||
| Studios |
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| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 64:40 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Communicating Vessels | |||
| Producer | Steve Kilbey | |||
| The Church chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [a] |
| American Songwriter |  [3] |
| Classic Rock | 8/10[4] |
| The Irish Times | [5] |
| PopMatters | 9/10[6] |
| Uncut | 8/10[7] |
| Under the Radar | 7.5/10[8] |
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.[1] AllMusic critic Matt Collar wrote that the band manages to write "more sophisticated and mature versions of their classic material" on this concept album.[2] 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".[3] 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".[9] At PopMatters, John Garratt gave this album a 9 out of 10, calling it "another stunning record" by the band.[6] 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 [sic] to even dizzier heights among the higher echelons of The Church's already impressive canon".[8]
Accolades
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| PopMatters | Best Rock Albums of 2023 | 23 | [10] |
| Best Albums of 2023 | 67 | [11] | |
| Spin | Albums of the Year 2024 | — | [12] |
Track listing
All songs written by The Church.
- "Ascendence" – 5:38
- "C'est la vie" – 4:55
- "I Think I Knew" – 3:57
- "Flickering Lights" – 4:50
- "The Hypnogogue" – 6:13
- "Albert Ross" – 3:54
- "Thorn" – 4:12
- "Aerodrome" – 4:32
- "These Coming Days" – 4:37
- "No Other You" – 4:10
- "Succulent" – 6:48
- "Antarctica" – 5:34
- "Second Bridge" – 5:20
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of The Hypnogogue on Communicating Vessels.[13]
The Church
Additional musicians
- Roger Mason – strings, additional keyboards
- Georgia St. James – additional backing vocals on "No Other You"
Technical and design
- Steve Kilbey – production, inside cover painting, photography
- Andrew Beck – co-production, tracking, arrangement engineering
- Jeffrey Cain – co-production, additional engineering, photography
- Timothy Powles – co-production, additional engineering
- Ted Howard, Brad Timko – additional engineering
- Kip McClanahan – executive production
- David Ives – mastering at 101 Mastering
- Darrell Thorp – mixing
- Christiana Monored – cover collage
- Richard Bruxner – photography
- Carl Breitkreuz – design
