Speed Of The Stars is a long out of print very obscure project between The Church and Cactus World News as Steve Kilbey and Barton Price of The Church got together with Frank Kearns and Wayne P Sheehy of Cactus World News after they originally met while playing a show together at an Ice rink in New Hampshire in 1986, before recording most of this album in 1998.
The album opens with the slow piano led Song Within The Shell that feels like a gentle swell is moving the shell up and down the beach, as the slow careful guitar adds some accents to the tide slowly coming in.
Heliotropic has a gentle wistfulness to this tale of the birds, as well as the supplications required to seduce the object of there desire. Long tones adorned by restrained drums keep this feeling very atmospheric.
Black River has a good peaty edge to the percussion, as they sit and watch the salmon jumping up the river, they sing about water being all around them, as they try not to get attacked by the midges, as the music becomes floatier, whispered asides infiltrate your mind.
Autumn Daze sees them hoping for a little freedom, as the carefully picked guitar tones wash over you, relaxed so laid back allowing the lyrics to seep deep inside you.
Back Wherever takes us back to a time where you could write of your despair on the back of Cheque, a process that younger readers may need to have explained to them, as the ruminative lyrics and texturally inquisitive backing accenting the lyrics to make you think back to Caesar and Napoleon among other historic figures that inform this song.
Nepenthe has scattered percussion adorning the ambient guitars and deeply thoughtful lyrics.
Honolulu Bayside is relaxing on a laid-back holiday, this isn't full of sundowners, much more sober reflections on love, life amongst the island landscape.
Vela Velox has the magisterial feel of the laid-back guitars and tonal shifts as they prepare for some astral travel in the age of steam, they venture into space with dappled notes and carefully accented backing vocals, as Steve Kilbey dreams of eating the worm once more.
The Archaeologist digs deep into the primordial state, searching for meaning rather than oblivion and the stately guitars and subtle percussion take you to another ancient site.
When You Think Of Falling allows the listener to daydream looking at the sky, noticing Icarus falling, with the barely there backing, gossamer strings binding you together.
Sir Francis Drake is either a brilliant explorer or a devil of a colonizer, as the finger snapping intro opens a dark chant of Heave ho accents the questions they have about Francis and how frisky he gets after a few drinks. Exactly what kind of sailor is he.
Red Star is smoldering like it's the greatest record label of the 70's, rather than a shoddy part of the parcel delivery arm of the Post office in England. Still footie fans will all chant along to the Red Star Belgrade beat, although this is no footie anthem.
Words Are Wasted as the deep bass drum sound is joined by ambient guitar figures. This is the song that mentions the band's name in the lyrics, as it slowly unfurls you understand just why no amount of words will make things better.
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