The Unguarded Moment (1981) – The Church

If there was one song that encapsulated the frenetic, anticipatory glee of my late-teen party days, it would have to be today’s featured track – The Unguarded Moment. I can still picture it blasting through the corridor of our Academy block in 1992 on a Friday evening, as we dressed to the nines in fever-pitch mode, waiting for the clock to finally grant us leave-time in Canberra to paint the town red. It’s such a free-spirited and uplifting track which has a jangling, psychedelic tinged sound and that I have never grown tired of.

Apart from this song, I know next to nothing about the Australian alternative rock band The Church, so join me as we take a little meander through their background. The Unguarded Moment comes from The Church’s debut album Of Skins and Heart released in 1981. The song reached No. 22 on the Australian singles chart, and was the band’s first radio hit. The song is said to tip its hat to the Beatles, particularly Ticket to Ride, in terms of its riff.

The Unguarded Moment was co- written by Steve Kilbey, the group’s frontman, singer and bass guitarist who later said “The song just doesn’t appeal to me. It doesn’t give me any pleasure at all. Maybe it was exciting for people who thought the country was going to be bogged down with the Human League and Buggles for the decade.”

The Church who formed in Sydney in 1980 is best known for their dreamy, atmospheric sound that blends jangly guitars with moody, psychedelic textures. They later found international recognition with their 1988 hit Under the Milky Way which resembles the band sound and vocals of Grant McLennan from The Go-Betweens who were also prominent at that time.

Despite lineup changes over the years, The Church have remained a consistent creative force, releasing more than 25 albums that explore post-punk, alternative rock, and psychedelic influences. Today, they’re regarded as one of Australia’s most enduring and influential bands.

[Verse 1]
So hard finding inspiration
I knew you’d find me crying
Tell those girls with rifles for minds
That their jokes don’t make me laugh
They only make me feel like dying
In an unguarded moment

[Verse 2]
So long, long between mirages
I knew you’d find me drinking
Tell those men with horses for hearts
That their jibes don’t make me bleed
They only make me feel like shrinking
In an unguarded moment

[Verse 3]
So deep, deep without a meaning
I knew you’d find me leaving
Tell those friends with cameras for eyes
That their hands don’t make me hang
They only make me feel like breathing
In an unguarded moment
In an unguarded moment
In an unguarded moment

[Outro]
In an unguarded moment
In an unguarded moment

References:
1. The Unguarded Moment (song) – Wikipedia

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand