ALBUM PREMIERE: Church Of The Sea - 'Eva'
Get an exclusive first listen of this new doomgaze monument
Formed in Athens in 2017, Church Of The Sea are Irene (voice), Vangelis (guitars) and Alex (synths and samples), and if the band name sounds familiar, that’s because this isn’t their first symposium, having already made some waves with their previous releases - both 2019’s ‘Anywhere But Desert‘ EP and their 2022 ‘Odalisque‘ debut. Both showed a very promising kind of approach, sort of skipping between genres, too trippy, too gentle and too atmospheric for any kind of “pure” doom, but at the same time also too heavy and too gloomy for a nice fit into shoegaze or electronic music. By gathering firewood from all of these camps, the Greek trio has now set an enormous pyre ablaze with their new album ‘Eva’, a sort of “arrival” for the band, where they clearly match the potential that has always been recognised in them. As the first single showed, the title track, accompanied by an excellent video (at the time, premiered on my buddy JJ’s always tasteful The Obelisk), there is a very visual, very soundtrack-like element to their music these days, as well as unmistakable touches of more traditional Greek music here and there. Check it out as a cool introduction if you haven’t seen it yet:
Kinda leaves you hungry for the whole thing, right? Especially as, just like the band has explained, there is a full concept to the album, a reimagining of the biblical story of Eve. I personally love how they transformed the rather misogynist original version into something that empowers Eve, a natural allegory for all women, into “the rebel that embraces what others consider ‘forbidden’” instead of the villain that brought about sin with her curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Take that, Book of Genesis!
That Irene is the clear focal point of the album with her excellent, tranquil yet emotional and expressive vocals - fully bringing home the dynamics created by her cohorts, who effortlessly swing between evocative, beautiful, menacing and serene - is just the absolute icing on this fantastic myth-rewriting cake. I totally agree with JJ’s assessment that SubRosa, Jesu or Author and Punisher are evoked throughout some of the songs, much more than the usual Chelsea Wolfe/Darkher/King Woman/whatever comparisons that nowadays always pop up whenever there’s a woman singing over some moody music, regardless if they make sense or not. In fact, I’d even throw the clock back a couple of decades and pull out The Gathering’s ‘How To Measure A Planet?’ album in particular for the clever interplay between electronics and guitars, which is similar yet feels more shadowy and less expansive in the Greeks’ case.
‘Eva’ is only coming out tomorrow, but because we’re super cool, we thought you’d dig hearing it right now. Sounds good? So here, have at it, courtesy of the band and the lovely people that help promote them:
‘Eva’ is out on April 11th via These Hands Melt.
You can find Church Of The Sea on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
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