The Fifth Hour Liner Notes

Church of Hed’s new album, The Fifth Hour, features a return to the improvisational and immediate styles of their earlier release, The Fourth Hour, or even Quarkspace’s Spacefolds series. The music squarely resides in space, with deep Kosmische and Berlin School explorations informing the album’s psychedelic electronica and prog. 

Church of Hed’s unique mix of spacerock, psychedelia, prog rock, krautrock, and electronic music channels diverse influences, including CAN, Cluster, Brian Eno, Hawkwind, YES, Glass, Reich, Riley, and so much more. In the end, it always manages to sound predominately like Church of Hed.

The band’s Paul Williams is joined on The Fifth Hour by Jonathan Segel, from indie-rock legends Camper Van Beethoven, on violin, guitar, and bass, as well as Quarkspace’s Stan Lyon, on bass and synth. Williams plays his usual array of synthesizers, keyboards, beatmakers, sequencers, and electrified drums.

A digital release, The Fifth Hour is available on download from Bandcamp, iTunes, and Amazon, as well as the usual low-paying streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Never forget to support independent music by purchasing downloads and physical copies of albums!

1. Pleiades Waypoint (13.49)

2. Aniluminescence 1 (2.11)

3. Hyades Noir (6.25)

4. Blue Spaceways (4.20)

5. The Fifth Hour (8.43)

6. The Bells of Alpha Persei (3.26)

7. Aniluminescence 2 (1.20)

8. Son of a Silicon Rogue (14.58)

9. Bastard Son of the Fifth Hour (1.54)

Personnel

Paul Williams: synths, keyboards, sequences, beats, drumming. Jonathan Segel: violin (3,5,8,9), guitar (3,8), bass (5). Stan Lyon: bass (3,9), synth (1).

Produced by Lance Starbridge

Cover photo courtesy NASA

24-bit audio files exclusive to Bandcamp!

Thanks to all family, friends, and pets!