Chris Church – Obsolete Path (2025)
With six records under his belt, stretching all the way back to 2004’s Let the Echo Decide, North Carolina native Chris Church has a wealth of experience to draw on with his new offering, Obsolete Path.
What better place to start than with the title track opening the record? ‘Obsolete Path’ may be the shortest song on the album, sitting at a concise 1 minute 40, but it sets the tone perfectly with folk sensibility mixed with an indie vibe. The momentum is not lost as it goes straight into ‘Sit Down’, a wonderfully balanced piece of indie-pop, which has your foot tapping, as Chris expresses his own blend of self-reflection. I especially enjoyed the line “Learning how to be unaware” because this is so relatable in today’s society, where we would all like to switch off from the noise of life.
The next standout track for me is ‘She Looks Good In Black’, sounding like it was plucked straight out of the mid-90s, it emanates the warmth of a long summer night. I can hand on heart say I’ve never heard anyone sound more like REM than REM until I heard ‘She Looks Good In Black’, right from the music styling to Church’s vocals challenging the great Michael Stipe. This is not a bad thing at all and just shows the talent of Chris Church, because like I said, not many come close to the pure perfection of REM.
As the record progresses it just churns out banger after banger from ‘Life On A Trampoline’ with its pops sensibility wrapped up in a warm indie blanket, followed by ‘Running Right Back To You’ which with its distortion-laden opening catches you off guard and wakes you up before falling back down to the light indie vibe Church is clear a master of.
Halfway through the record, I wondered if there was any more Chris could give, but he never lets up. Delivering my favourite song on the album, ‘Tell Me What You Really Are’, with its slower pace allows you to really appreciate the lyricism of Church. The tracks that follow just add to the pure quality of the record. All building to a perfect ending with ‘What Are We Talking About’ bringing Church’s talent for songwriting and vocal flair to the forefront once again.
Having only just discovered Chris Church, I had no point of reference before hearing Obsolete Path. If this is anything to go by, I’ve got an exciting few hours of listening ahead of me with his back catalogue.
Find out more about Chris Church on his Spotify.
