Of Skins and Heart by The Church

Of Skins and Heart is the debut album by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released in April 1981 by EMI Parlophone. It peaked at No. 22 in the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.It is their only album to feature Nick Ward on drums and has a harder, more new wave influenced sound than their later material, although Kilbey's semi-surreal lyrics are already present. It was produced by Chris Gilbey and Bob Clearmountain. Seven songs were entirely written by lead singer and bass guitarist Steve Kilbey and two were co-written with others. The first single, "She Never Said", did not chart on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The second single, "The Unguarded Moment", was co-written with Mikela Uniacke (aka Michelle Parker), who was married to Steve Kilbey at the time. This song launched the band to success and has been their biggest hit to date. It brought early attention and significant radio play to the band, it peaked at No. 22 in Australia and No. 19 in New Zealand. The track "Is This Where You Live" became a live staple over the following years. By the time of the album's release, Ward had been replaced on drums by Richard Ploog. The album was re-sequenced and released internationally as The Church in 1982.