Churches plans to drop its second record, a 7″ entitled Lovelife, on December 11th, and the trio is celebrating with a gig at Bottom of the Hill on the 22nd. The new release’s title track is band member Caleb Nichols’ statement of “frustration at having his personal life and the personal lives of all LGBT people constantly subject to public debate.” He first recorded the song’s melody to his phone when it popped into his head while he sat alone in his car, but the lyrics, which keep with the band’s recurring theme of small-town teenage alienation, came later.

An all-star Bay Area outfit featuring Nichols (Grand Lake, Port O’Brien), Pat Spurgeon (Rogue Wave), and Dominic East (Rogue Wave, Our Lady of the Highway), Churches lists influences including the likes of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., The Flaming Lips, and even Green Day. The band infuses a heavy serving of pop into a caustic and distortion-filled, yet soaring and beautiful cacophony. Uplifting while retaining a raw edge rock edge, “Lovelife” and b-side “Save Me” (which also appeared on Churches’ self-titled debut EP) offer something more than your average indie rock – stunningly gorgeous nods to the past that are more than just some throwback, copycat material. Listen to both tracks here on The Bay Bridged (via Bandcamp) and then check out full details on the Bottom of the Hill show below.

Churches, Tijuana Panthers, Toshio Hirano, DJ Pat
Bottom of the Hill
December 22, 2012
9pm, $10–12