The Hypnogogue Explained

The Hypnogogue
Type:	studio
Artist:	The Church
Cover:	The Church - The Hypnogogue.jpg
Alt:	A collage of various mechanical devices, such as gears, a camera lens, and a compass along with a blue-tinted photo of the moon, a document, and other miscellaneous items
Studio:	Airlock Studios, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Communicating Vessels Studio Damien Gerard Studios, Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Spacejunk, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genre:	Psychedelic rock
Language:	English
Label:	Communicating Vessels
Producer:	Steve Kilbey
Prev Title:	Man Woman Life Death Infinity
Prev Year:	2017
Next Title:	Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars
Next Year:	2024

The Hypnogogue is a 2023 studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band The Church.

Reception

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Matt Collar writing that the band manages to write "more sophisticated and mature versions of their classic material" on this concept album. 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". 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". At PopMatters, John Garratt gave this album a 9 out of 10, calling it "another stunning record" by the band. 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 to even dizzier heights among the higher echelons of The Church's already impressive canon".

PopMatters ranked this the 23rd best rock album of the year. Editors at Spin included this among the albums of the year.

Track listing

All songs written by The Church.

1. "Ascendence" – 5:38
2. "C'est la vie" – 4:55
3. "I Think I Knew" – 3:57
4. "Flickering Lights" – 4:50
5. "The Hypnogogue" – 6:13
6. "Albert Ross" – 3:54
7. "Thorn" – 4:12
8. "Aerodrome" – 4:32
9. "These Coming Days" – 4:37
10. "No Other You" – 4:10
11. "Succulent" – 6:48
12. "Antarctica" – 5:34
13. "Second Bridge" – 5:20

Personnel

The Church

• Jeffrey Cain – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, additional engineering, co-production, photography
• Ian Haug – guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Kilbey – bass guitar, keyboards, guitar, lead vocals, production, inside cover painting, photography
• Ashley Naylor – guitar, backing vocals
• Tim Powles – drums, percussion, guitar, backing vocals, additional engineering, co-production

Additional personnel

• Andrew Beck – tracking, engineering, co-production
• Carl Breitkreuz – design
• Richard Bruxner – photography
• Ted Howard – additional engineering
• David Ives – masteringat 101 Mastering
• Roger Mason – strings, additional keyboards
• Kip McClanahan – executive production
• Christiana Monored – cover collage
• Georgia St. James – backing vocals on "No Other You"
• Tim Powles – additional engineering, co-production
• Darrell Thorp – mixing
• Brad Timko – additional engineering

See also

• List of 2023 albums