Of all The Church’s eighties albums, Seance is the one most mired in its time – it’s hard to escape those gated drums and the swamp of reverb here. But The Church turn it to their advantage; strangely, their songs sit perfectly within this alien environment, and if anything, its mechanical charge makes their music even more psychedelic. And in amongst the moodiness (best captured by lead singer/songwriter Steve Kilbey’s two masterpieces here, “Now I Wonder Why” and “Disappear”) are some great, exhilarating rock songs – see the glam-shock of “Electric Lash” and the eternally recurring riff of “One Day”.

– Jon Dale

With Seance, the Church began an initial move beyond their core rock band sound, producing themselves for the first time and adding some unexpected touches from the get-go, as with Richard Ploog’s bongos on the understated opening track “Fly.” Steve Kilbey as ever remained the core creative force on the album, writing everything beyond a band cowrite on “Travel By Thought,” and if the album art might have suggested a connection to goth rock’s rise, their own sense of ringing guitar drama remains paramount, as a song like “Electric Lash” shows.

– Ned Raggett