Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)- What It Takes To Move Forward (Tue, 20 Oct 2009 Posted at 08:30:00 AM)
Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)- What It Takes To Move Forward (Count Your Lucky Stars Rec)
Taking two years to make and lots of roadblocks to overcome (line up changes, recording delays, etc.), this young Michigan outift with a long name and almost as long song titles finally releases their much anticipated debut full length after two successful EPs. Though this began as a solo outlet for frontman Keith Latinen, Empire! Empire! soon became the quartet they are today, gaining a lot of momentum and worldwide praise.
Playing the sort to melodic, emotive post-hardcore that was so common in the mid to late 90's, Empire! Empire! deliver delicately textured songs with ambient, meandering instrumentation that occasionally picks up the pace with excellent jangly guitars. The vocals often remind me Copeland or early Saves The Day- high pitched and heartfelt- and it sometimes drops down to a whisper or even talking. The songs twist and turn with carefully calculated musicianship, often lasting 5+ minutes, though the instrumenation is intriguing enough so as not to make you aware you just listened to an 8 minute track.
Sincere and passionate, the bulk of this is atmostpheric, cascading, delicate guitar work that really brings to mind Mineral's 'End Serenading'. Sounding more like a bands 5th than 1st album, this is a very mature, accomplished body of work that reminds of us of all the greats from a decade ago, but retains a modern day feel as well. Definitely 99% better than what everyone calls 'emo' these days...
For fans of: Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, American Football, Christie Front Drive, The Promise Ring (early)
