The guitarist and songwriter for
the Church,
Marty Willson-Piper has recorded several solo albums, some of which have been released in America. Art Attack (1988), his first, includes six tracks from the Australian-only In Reflection. Rhyme (1989) and Spirit Level (1992) have also appeared on Rykodisc.
Willson-Piper spent the remainder of the decade focusing on his
Church duties before returning to solo recording with 2000's Hanging Out in Heaven. A blue-ribbon collaborator,
Willson-Piper also moonlighted in a number of notable bands (including
Cinerama,
All About Eve, and
the Saints), as well as working alongside artists as diverse as
Tom Verlaine and
Aimee Mann. His
Noctorum side project (with longtime friend
Andy "Dare" Mason) spawned two releases in the mid- to late 2000s and an appearance on a
Dusty Springfield tribute album. Three live recordings also saw the light in the 2000s, with sets documented at the Knitting Factory, Fine Line Cafe, and Other Side. By 2008,
Willson-Piper had another album's worth of solo material ready for the studio, and he released his sixth solo effort,
Nightjar, in 2009. ~ John Bush & J. Scott McClintock