SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – PAUSE

Church Of Trees
Pause
Independent

On Pause, Bernard Frazer, the musical and lyrical genius behind Church Of Trees, has put together the strongest Church Of Trees album yet. While he is the cornerstone for the project, he has also enlisted a few friends to assist him.

From the beginning, Frazer continues to grapple with the world and the current pandemic. He is not one to mince words or shy away from real emotion. Listen to “Lost My Job”. Frazier is angry and it is unleashed in the song. His vocals are strong and determined, and the song is augmented by some gritty guitar work from Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker The Star). I have always been a fan of an electronica band incorporating heavy guitar sounds.

What sets Pause apart from other Church Of Trees albums are the instrumentals, such as “Ego And Greed” a collaboration with Rob Preuss (The Spoons, Honeymoon Suite). Elsewhere, Preuss provides some intense remixes, but here he gets out his keyboards and the music that he and Frazier makes is an absolute highlight. It is a wonderful combination of prog rock and electronica. Closing track, “Whales”, is a beautiful and emotional song that is the perfect way to end the album. It brings peace to the project following its intensity.

Some of the songs on the album should be familiar to fans. The opening track, “World’s A Bitch” has already been a massive hit for the band. The song features the unmistakable vocals of Carole Pope, pushing the song to a whole new level. Rob Preuss is also featured on the song and provides a very unique remix that is a different approach to the song.

Frazier is smart to include a couple of dance-oriented pop songs, featuring the vocals of Alison Stanton on the groove-infested “Big Black Car” and the wonderful synthpop “Powerful Love”. These moments of more pop fare are perfect for the mix of the album.

Much like artists in the past, like The Beatles, Roxy Music, Bowie, Frazier is not afraid to experiment and go outside of his comfort zone. The end result is an incredible album.

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