*** The Church

A BOX OF BIRDS

(Thirsty Ear)

As '80s hair metal returns, the resurrection of the Church's slam 'n' glam version of psychedelic pop is awfully refreshing. Last year's Hologram of Baal found the band diving back into their own realm of lyric and sonic mysticism. This time the territory is more familiar: a collection of covers that ranges from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band to Iggy Pop.

Ig's "The Endless Sea" is an especially beautiful excursion, Steve Kilbey intoning its dour exorcism as Marty Willson-Piper's guitars sail out sheets of sound. The take on Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" is hard and faithful right up to its instrumental break, when Piper lays a feedback-soaked solo over a chiming, churning rhythm bed, throwing in volume swells and rivulets of delay until he's built a perfect space in which to get lost. That's always been the best thing about the Church -- the way their sound, including Kilbey's warm baritone, can transport listeners outside of themselves when conditions are right. Here, Tom Verlaine's "Friction," Ultravox's "Hiroshima Mon Amour," George Harrison's "It's All Too Much" -- really, all 10 songs -- make a consistent pitch for out-of-body travel.

-- Ted Drozdowski