Church of the Sea – Odalisque

Church Of The Sea
Odalisque
April 8, 2022
Playing time: 28:14

Church of the Sea were founded in 2017 in the Greek capital Athens. Three very different musicians came together to create a sound somewhere between doom and electronic dark rock. One year later, the EP “Anywhere But Desert” was released. In April of this year, “Odalisque” followed with a playing time of just below thirty minutes, i.e. on the border between EP and album. I think I classify these six songs as a debut album. The band was able to win renowned artwork artists, producers and technicians for the completion of the album.

And you hear exactly what was announced, a mixture of Dark Wave and Doom. For my taste, the doom part is slightly predominant. I really like the ethereal vocals. You can hear it from the beginning of “No One Deserves”. But you can also hear that Church of the Sea are not playing in the usual doom line-up. So I miss the frying guitars a bit. And also the drums sound more like a drum computer. The clean guitars predominate, as the title song “Odalisque” clearly shows. Even this song could have done with a few more degrees of heaviness. In addition, there are always essentially quiet industrial sounds. Just listen to “Mirror”. And this is how contemplative it remains on the whole album. Sometimes a little darker (“Raindrops”), sometimes a little brighter and friendlier (“Preparation”). In the final track “Me As Water” you can hear beautiful keyboard melodies.

“Odalisque” is an album with a calming effect. In the right mood, you can enjoy it. Now and then, beautiful melodic arcs with quite sparse instrumentation. The singing of Irene, (or Irini, as I read elsewhere) is dominant. But not because she puts her voice intensively in the foreground. But because the instruments discreetly hold back. An album on which the trio can continue to build.

Church of the Sea – Odalisque (Single 2022): https://youtu.be/3Yi66Fu1Soo

Lineup:

Irene – Vocals
Vangelis – Guitars
Alex – Synths & samples

Track list:

• No One Deserves
• Odalisque
• Mirrors
• Raindrops
• (A story about) Preparation
• Me as the water, me as a tree