Space Church tear up their own rulebook on new album ‘ARE YOU’

Space Church have never sounded especially interested in neat categorisation, but ‘ARE YOU’ takes that instinct further than before. Across nine tracks, the North Hampshire trio stretch their noise-rock and post-hardcore foundations into something far stranger, looser and more unpredictable.

The record moves with the confidence of a band that has been playing together long enough to trust the detours. One moment they are locked into minimalist abrasion, the next they are bending towards mutant funk, sludge or wiry new-wave guitar work. It’s a constant shift that gives ‘ARE YOU’ its personality, and sounding like three musicians pushing at whatever idea happens to be in front of them.

‘Double AA’ and ‘First Cockcrow’ are two of the more comparatively concise cuts here, while pieces such as ‘Sticking To What You Are Good At’, ‘I Can’t Believe I Still Need More Attention’ and the near-twelve-minute ‘Mumbo No.666’ allow Space Church to stretch, repeat, derail and rebuild ideas without rushing towards an obvious payoff.

Phil, Dan and Pat also make good use of the trio format. Guitar, bass and drums remain central, but keys, vocoder and instrument-swapping broaden the palette without making the record feel overcrowded. Even at its most chaotic, there’s a clear sense that the songs have been shaped through repetition and instinct instead of just thrown together for effect.

After more than a decade as a band, ‘ARE YOU’ sounds like Space Church becoming less concerned with what they’re supposed to be. It’s noisy, odd, heavy, funny and frequently unpredictable; exactly the kind of record that benefits from refusing to settle into one lane.