Church Of Hed - s/t (2002) {Eternity's Jest} **[RE-UP]**

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Church Of Hed - s/t (2002) {Eternity's Jest} **[RE-UP]**

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Quarkspace… the Starbridge Freaks… have slowed their pace considerably due to the various life factors that distract people. But drummer and keyboard player Paul Williams never stops making music and Church Of Hed is the mostly solo project that is his focus these days. More purely electronic than Quarkspace, the music does nonetheless include clear traces of the Quarkspace sound, which makes sense given that Paul is the one behind the loops that were such an integral part of the later day Quarkspace sound.

The set opens with the revealing titled "The Lone Freak". "Axiom One" is a cool tune that consists of low drones, bubbling alien space sounds, and robotic patterns that make for an interesting combination of the cosmic and quirky elements. Like Kraftwerk jamming to the Forbidden Planet soundtrack. "Rock & Roll Song" would be very much at home on Quarkspace's Drop CD, probably due to the similar styled female vocals from guest Lynette Shelly of The Red Masque. It's got a very dark and slow moving intensity to it but is surrounded by swarming freaky electronics. The title track is one of my favorites being kind of a prog rock song augmented by space electronics. "Free Jim Brown" features classic Quarkspace synth patterns. But there's lots happening. Paul excels at combining disparate keyboard and synth sounds into a varied yet harmonic whole, which is very much a hallmark of the entire album.

Other highlights include "Cathedral Ice Revival" and "Blue Freaky", two more tracks with trademark Quarkspace synth patterns. In fact, the keyboard melody on "Blue Freaky" kind of reminds me of an old FM song (remember them?!). "Requiem Two" is another standout track with cool swirling alien elements. It's wild how there's this slow somber keyboard melody surrounded by UFO chaos, yet it all gels so well. And "Alpha Century Leisuretime" is the one long track at just over 9 minutes. It opens with a bouncy pleasant keyboard melody surrounded by heavenly atmospherics. But soon the main section kicks in which is a blend of cosmic space sounds and textures, light melodic bits, and syncopated keyboard patterns. Imagine early Tangerine Dream with a bit more rhythm and melody, or perhaps a more cosmic Vangelis. I was really drifting along with this one and would have loved for it to continue for a while as it was evolving very nicely and would have made a beautiful multi-movement suite.

Overall it's an excellent set that will appeal to Quarkspace fans and anyone into freaky electronica. Wanting to get the lowdown on where Paul is headed with this and other projects I traveled up the road to the Eternity's Jest studios where Paul filled me in on everything he's up to these days.

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Church Of Hed - s/t (2002) {Eternity's Jest} **[RE-UP]**

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