You surely know the one top-40 hit from The Church, 1988’s dreamy yet propulsive “Under the Milky Way” — and if you were a big MTV watcher in that era, you likely also know the Australian band’s shimmering video fave from 1990, “Metropolis.”
But while the band has only ever been a two-hit wonder in this country (something vocalist/bassist Steve Kilbey has joked about onstage), it’s been releasing singles and LPs for more than 35 years. One of them is consistently mentioned by the band and international fans alike as a big favorite, the 1982 record “The Blurred Crusade.”
The Church — still featuring founding members Kilbey and Peter Koppes (guitar) along with Tim Powles (drummer since the early 1990s) and Ian Haug (guitar) — will play that album in its entirety, along with songs from its latest release “Further/Deeper,” plus a memorable hit or two, when it makes a rare appearance at the Iron Horse in Northampton Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“ ‘The Blurred Crusade’ was my introduction to The Church. The record was like phosphorescence in the sea, subtle and glowing, entrancing and otherworldly,” said Ann Marie Lucey, co-owner of Northampton’s Main St. Records. “I liked the lush sound of electric and acoustic guitars soaring together across dreamy melodies, the vocals that weave in and out telling fantastic tales and hinting at extraordinary states of mind. The Church made me pay closer attention to bands from Down Under, and I’m in their debt.”
Musician Jeff Wiederschall, who’s making the drive up from the sticks of Connecticut to see the band, calls the 1982 album “smart, pure. It’s one of those ‘every song is a great song’ records.”
He was a 15-year-old listener glued to Wesleyan University’s WESU when he first heard The Church, thanks to a deejay playing a track from that album: “One lucky day this song came on and melted me — ‘To Be In Your Eyes.’ It hit me heavily.”
He got a friend to drive him to the record store, bought “The Blurred Crusade,” and played it over and over when he got home. “The music brought me to different places. Even as a kid, I could relate. The soul-filled sound of Steve’s voice was hauntingly beautiful. It still is.”
Singer/songwriter and true folk original Michael Hurley returns to Flywheel in Easthampton Friday at 8 p.m.Crystalline Roses open.
Witty and blunt singer/songwriter (and “mod housewife”) Amy Rigby plays a solo show at The Parlor Room in Northampton Saturday at 7 p.m.
Free Range Cats (local all-stars feeling the funk and blues) and Headband (reggae from the Hilltowns) team up at The Basement in Northampton Saturday at 8 p.m.
Amherst’s heavy-rocking psychedelic groove band Outer Stylie will celebrate the release of its brand-new CD, “Puzzles,” by playing the album in its entirety (plus more goodies from its back catalog) at the Iron Horse Saturday at 10 p.m. Vivid Dreams opens.
10 String Symphony is a Nashville-based folk/bluegrass/old-time duo of violinists Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer. They share a bill with The Wild Reeds at The Parlor Room Sunday at 7 p.m.
Native New Yorker and jazz vocalist Marion Cowings — a big range baritone and expert at scatting and vocalese (mentored by the master of all such things, Jon Hendricks) — is this week’s guest star with the house band at the Northampton Jazz Workshop at the City Sports Grille at Spare Time Northampton Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The usual open jazz jam follows (so bring your instrument or voice to sign up and join the house trio, or just sit back and relax and enjoy the entertainment).
Expect prog-rock nirvana when Stick Men — Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto (from King Crimson) and Markus Reuter (from the Crimson ProjeKCt) — take the stage at the Iron Horse Thursday at 7 p.m.
It’s Twang Time! The Salvation Alley String Band, Greg Hall and And the Neighbors are banding together for a night of country/roots music at One Bar & Grill in Northampton Thursday at 8 p.m.
Local indie-rockers The Original Cowards and The Claudia Malibu (pictured) play the Luthiers Co-Op in Easthampton Thursday at 8:30 p.m.