If there are only a few things that you should immediately take away from this site, it’d be this – I’m a huge fan of The Verve, who I was extremely lucky to catch live during the tour to support their last effort, Forth; and that I’m a big fan of The Church, who I caught back in 2011. And over 30 years since their formation in Melbourne, Australia, the quartet have managed to be as vital and as challenging as ever – in fact, their most recent efforts pair eerily ominous and moody atmospherics and lyrics describing natural phenomenon and the human world in a poetic and surreal fashion. And although complex and layered, the material overall manages to be accessible but requires multiple listens. 

The band recently released a previous unreleased single just for the holiday season, titled “XMAS” and it evokes what it feels to be alone on Christmas, with only one’s thoughts for Christmas. Also pay attention to the novelistic attention to detail – in fact, the song captures the innermost thoughts of its narrator, and his observations in a way that you’re forced to empathize with his disconnectedness to everyone and everything.