The Hypnogogue

The Hypnogogue
Studio album by
The Church
Released24 February 2023 (2023-02-24)
Studio
  • Damien Gerard (Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Spacejunk (Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Communicating Vessels (Birmingham, Alabama)
  • Airlock (Brisbane, Queensland)
GenrePsychedelic rock
Length64:40
LanguageEnglish
LabelCommunicating Vessels
ProducerSteve Kilbey
The Church chronology
Man Woman Life Death Infinity
(2017) 		The Hypnogogue
(2023) 		Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars
(2024)

The Hypnogogue is the 26th studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released on 24 February 2023.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[a]
American Songwriter[3]
Classic Rock8/10[4]
PopMatters9/10[5]
Under the Radar7.5/10[6]

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".[7] At PopMatters, John Garratt gave this album a 9 out of 10, calling it "another stunning record" by the band.[5] 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".[6]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
PopMatters Best Rock Albums of 2023 23 [8]
Best Albums of 2023 67 [9]
Spin Albums of the Year 2024 — [10]

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

Credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of The Hypnogogue on Communicating Vessels.[11]

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

See also

Notes

  1. ^ As of June 2025, the editors at AllMusic have downgraded their previous album rating of 4.5 to 4 stars out of 5.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Hypnogogue by The Church Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "The Church – The Hypnogogue". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (23 April 2023). "Review: THE CHURCH Defines Style on 'The Hypnogogue'". American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. ^ Aizlewood, John (June 2023). "The Church: The Hypnogogue". Classic Rock. p. 75. ISSN 1464-7834.
  5. ^ a b Garratt, John (28 February 2023). "The Church: The Hypnogogue". Album Reviews. PopMatters. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b Gourlay, Dom (23 May 2023). "The Church: The Hypnogogue (Communicating Vessels)". Music. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  7. ^ Collete, Doug (24 February 2023). "The Church Keeps It Dramatic & Lush On 'The Hypnogogue'". Album Reviews. Glide Magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  8. ^ "The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2023". Lists. PopMatters. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  9. ^ "The 80 Best Albums of 2023". PopMatters. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Our Editors Pick Their Albums of the Year". Features >> Our Editors Pick Their Albums of the Year. Spin. 12 December 2023. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  11. ^ The Church (2023). The Hypnogogue (CD liner notes). Communicating Vessels. CV0072.
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