The Church are one of those bands that you either like or you don't. If you do, you look past the songs that generated interest in the band like "Under the Milky Way" from Starfish and "Russian Autumn Heart" from Gold Afternoon Fix and towards albums which highlight their songwriting and musicianship. That is where Priest=Aura comes in. Priest=Aura is a 14 song psychedelic/ethereal experience. From the opening notes of the title track "Aura", the listener knew that they were hearing a band expand itself musically and lyrically. The keyboard textures and the guitar interplay between Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes throughout the album are a highlight. The album also served as the unofficial soundtrack to "The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey" which demonstration computer animation when the art form was still in its early stages. The songs on Priest=Aura synchronize incredibly well with the series of short films which are on the video. Like Dark Side of the Moon, which went along with the Wizard of Oz both of which are completely coincidental but adds an interesting element to the release which most albums can not relate to. New drummer Jay Dee Daughtery adds a jazz-tinged element to this release that was absent in earlier releases. What is equally amazing is that lead singer/bassist Steve Kilbey was struggling with heroin addiction throughout the record and, fortunately, it did not effect his performance and was able to recover from his addiction. In the end, Priest=Aura is a fan favorite and establishes the direction for the band on future releases but is solid at its core.
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