Heyday

Easily their best overall release since The Blurred Crusade, Heyday found the Church at a new high point, their steady creative drive and touring power synthesized into a high point that well matches the striking cover photo of the band’s fully polished glam-psych image. Starting with the stirring flow of “Myrrh” it’s just one remarkable success after another, whether it’s the driving blast of “Tantalized,” the cool anthemic flow of “Youth Worshipper,” the chug and chime of “Tristesse” or the soaring beauty of “Already Yesterday,” a gentle cavalcade of power.

The Church already had three albums and three mini-albums under their belt by the time of 1986’s Heyday, but this is where everything really started to come together for this Australian psych-pop institution. From the paisley shirts and patterned rugs on the front cover to the whirring, spinning intro to album opener “Myrrh”, Heyday is a step up from earlier albums, subtly aligning The Church with America’s Paisley Underground scene, but with higher ambitions - songs like “Tantalised” are vivid rock mantras; “Columbus” is a mysterious shimmer of possibility; “Happy Hunting Ground” is an experimental spiral into dense thickets of texture.