Reptile (song)

"Reptile" is a song by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released as a single from their 1988 album Starfish, and the songwriting credits are given to all four members of the band.

This article is about the Church song. For the Dimmu Borgir song, see Spiritual Black Dimensions. For the Nine Inch Nails song, see The Downward Spiral. For the Skrillex song, see Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors.

"Reptile"
Single by The Church
from the album Starfish
Released1988
Genre
Length4:56
LabelArista Records
Songwriter(s)Marty Willson-Piper / Peter Koppes / Richard Ploog / Steve Kilbey
Producer(s)Greg Ladanyi, Waddy Wachtel, The Church
The Church singles chronology
"Under the Milky Way"
(1988)		 "Reptile"
(1988)		 "Antenna"
(1988)
Music video
Reptile on YouTube

Inspired by a real-life encounter with a reptile, "Reptile" is based around a prominent guitar riff. The song saw moderate commercial success as a single and has become one of the band's most famous songs.

Background and composition

Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey were all credited with writing the song. Sung by Kilbey, the song features lyrics inspired by an encounter Kilbey had after going with a woman to her hotel room. Kilbey explained, "I went home with this woman one night I met in Canters Deli. I went in the bathroom ... and there was a sound behind the shower curtain. I look behind the shower curtain and there was a great big ... lizard in there, looking at me. ... And the woman goes, 'Oh, you met Bruford' or whatever his ... name was. ... I guess that had something to do with it".[3]

Musically, the song, as Stewart Mason of AllMusic described, is based on a "nagging stop-start guitar riff that continues, almost unchanged, throughout the entire song, building a palpable tension through the verses that is only partially alleviated by Steve Kilbey's sneering chorus".[4] Mason continues, "The rattling rhythm section only adds to the effect, with Richard Ploog's kinetic hi-hat work driving the beat".[4] Kilbey said, "I think 'Reptile' did something we never quite managed to do again, and that is the way the parts all play against each other. Like the Church has always been a band where its not everything just doing the same thing at the same time. Everything's working like a machine. I think that was the best ever example of that".[3]

Release and reception

"Reptile" peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1988.[5] The song was well received by critics upon its release. Ned Raggett of Allmusic compared it to "the sheer punch of Heyday's most frenetic moments with a slightly more restrained but still strong, smart performance." The chorus was "rushing", the guitars were "epic" and "melancholic", and the atmosphere was set by "a sudden mid-song slow dive bomb break, guitars howling down into the void."[6]

Personnel

Chart performance
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 94
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart[5] 27

References
  1. Terich, Jeff (5 April 2012). "10 Essential Dream Pop Albums". Treble. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. Mason, Stewart. "Reptile - The Church | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. "Reptile by The Church". Professor of Rock. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  4. Mason, Stewart. "The Church - Reptile". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  5. "Billboard > The Church Chart History > Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  6. Raggett, Ned. "Starfish – The Church". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  7. Scott, Gavin. "This Week In 1988: September 11, 1988". chartbeats.com.au. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
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