The Church - Further Deeper

Further /Deeper is the twenty-fourth studio album by Australian rock band The Church, released in October 2014 via Unorthodox.

The Church were founded in 1980 in Sydney, Australia and were initially associated with new wave, neo-psychedelia, and indie rock. Their music later came to feature slower tempos and surreal soundscapes reminiscent of dream pop, post-rock and elements of progressive rock.

The founding members were Steve Kilbey (from Canberra) on lead vocals and bass guitar, Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper on guitars, and Nick Ward on drums. Ward played only on their debut album, and the band's drummer for the rest of the 1980s was Richard Ploog.

Further /Deeper was the first new material released in about 5 years since Untitled #23 (2015) and is the first album to feature former Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug who replaced founding member Marty Wilson-Piper.

Ian Haug joined the band in Sydney to record and in five days co-wrote more than 20 songs. "Ian's enthusiasm re-energised us," Kilbey said. "I'm not blaming Marty for this, but a certain cynicism and scepticism was shattered when Ian joined the band. Ian's all over this record; he's the prime mover behind a lot of the songs. He was always there with his guitar strapped on, suggesting 'What about this?', overdub after overdub. It's very inspiring to be part of that." He told Rolling Stone: "We knew he was a great player but we didn't know if we could work with him. As soon as he turned up, then Peter arrived 10 minutes later, the three of us cooked up 'Miami'. We wrote it quickly and without any pain or bloodshed, so I have a real fond spot for this (song). In concert we've been doing it as the last song and it's just been slaying people. It's just what the doctor ordered for The Church. A new epic."

Kilbey described Further/Deeper as "a very energetic, up-tempo record that is very complex musically". He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "We've really explored all the parameters of what The Church could be while still remaining The Church and kind of pushing the boundaries of where our music could go and what we could do with the lyrics, the vocals and instrumentation."

This double album is on black vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve, pressed in Australia via Unorthodox.