A peculiar sense of time travel took hold while I swayed in thrall to one of my all-time favourite bands at The Triffid, Brisbane’s newest and greatest rock venue.

My faith in The Church had just risen to a new high, somewhere outside the space-time continuum.

It was like the gigs of old, in music venues long gone. Perhaps because those of us gathered at this altar were all of a certain age. But also because there was that sense in the room that we were present to witness something truly remarkable — a glimmer of the zeitgeist that proves so foreign and elusive as years and decades roll on.

The Church formed in Sydney in 1980, finding great success in Australia and momentary fame in the US in 1988 with one big hit song, Under The Milky Way. A certain success continued into the ’90s, followed by the fade to black that grips virtually all creators of popular music.

Passion and talent must interact in equal measure for any work of art to rise above the noise and capture attention and acclaim. It’s also been my observation these key ingredients will only combine to make magic for so long.

Decline into mediocrity is usually impossible to avoid.

Which is why it’s so remarkable that The Church, all these years later, have found their way into a purple patch of awesome.

A number of factors are contributing to the relighting of the flame — former Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug joining the band is undoubtedly one of them.

Then there is the incendiary songwriting of Steve Kilbey, who is somehow making music that sounds simultaneously brand new and 35 years old.

Renowned hypnotic signature guitar riffs mix with hints of New Romantic synth in songs that have been gloriously set free from the constraints of trying to be the next big thing in pop.

Good music always embraces a hint of the familiar, while likewise breaking new ground in rhythm and melody.

It’s easy to get that wrong by sliding too far toward the derivative. On any given day on any music station in the world there is ample proof of that.

That The Church are getting it so right is both remarkable and unexpected.

So here we were in the presence of brilliance, watching a band with enthusiasm for their work and a genuine appreciation for their audience.

It’s enough to make time feel like a fluid concept. No drugs needed. At least not on my part — I can’t speak for the band.

Their new album is called Man Woman Life Death Infinity. Yep, that pretty much sums things up.

Listen to it more than once. You won’t be sorry.

The Martian moon Phobos is doomed. Nobody is sure when, but one day in the future its orbit will decay sufficiently that it with either be pulled apart or will simply crash into the surface of the planet.

As if that isn’t dramatic enough, there is no scientific consensus on how Phobos came into existence.

Examination of its surface and composition suggest it might be no more than an orbiting pile of rubble covered in a thick layer of regolith (dust).

But rubble from what? Captured asteroids? Perhaps — the asteroid belt is, after all, not so far away.

Yet this wouldn’t explain the moon’s circular orbit, which is highly unusual for captured asteroids.

And how about that massive Stickey crater (pictured)? How did Phobos survive an impact powerful enough to leave a crater that large?

Could Phobos be artificial? It sounds like a grand conspiracy theory… doesn’t it?

I love the Red Planet. Not enough to want to move there, admittedly, but there’s plenty to inspire from a distance.

The more we look, the more mysterious it becomes.

My sequel to Sleeping Gods is heading to Mars. It’ll be out next year. It’s going to blow your mind.

If you haven’t already read Sleeping Gods, join my subscriber list and you get it for free.

Any chance you’ve caught up with sci-fi author Neal Stephenson?

He wrote a fine space epic called Seveneves, set in space right above our heads – the zone between Earth orbit and the Moon.

Seveneves is an incredible piece of writing. Maybe too clever for its own good at times (certainly too clever for me at times) but an inventive and compelling story that spans generations in time. Well worth a read if you haven’t tracked it down already.

I’m impressed by Neal’s decision to create an epic close to Earth rather than in deep space on the basis that, in his words, “interstellar travel is probably overrated. We’re not leaving the solar system any time soon”.

I really wonder if it’s physically and mentally possible for us to do so. I like the idea that there are electromagnetic forces tying us to our corner of space.

It’s one of the ideas I’ll play around with when I begin work on a sequel novella to Sleeping Gods.

That and the mythical, mystical planet we call Mars.

Which, for an author, is a bit like tackling Everest.

I’m hoping I don’t fall down a crevasse.

The final edit and proof is done, so we’re locked and loaded for the August release of Live Cross.

This is occult crime suspense and I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it.

Early readers tell me it’s a dead set killer thriller.

You can place your order now by going to the Live Cross page at Pronoun and clicking on the ebook retailer of your choice.

Get in early and you get it for a low price.