Ahh, what a breath of fresh air to hear some straight up heavy hitting, solid structured rock and roll. It’s a rare find these days. The first track “Hostage” opens w/ some truly amazing sounding gritty drums layered with some on par almost “Sonic Youth” sounding guitar. I’m always impressed with the sounds that producer, John Congleton gets out of instruments. Everything sounds huge and dirty yet clear as all hell dispersing all the instruments to their own home in the sounds spectrum. Great opening track! Track two, “How Good Does It Feel”, another drum intro starts this off with a bit of a tempo pick-up. The vocals definitely have their own unique character. I were to choose an artist it reminds me of, I’d have to say “The National” with a hint of “Doves“. Track 3, “Please Don’t Tell My Lover”, really paints a picture for the listener w/ lyrics describing an often “close to home” scenario of the falling out of relationships. The vocals are a prominent feature in this track reminding me very much of “Morrissey”. It opens up with a very groovy, 90’s sounding plunky-guitar motif layered with an almost eerie theremin-like analogue synth melody. One of the dancier numbers on the E.P. with a very smooth arch to the strong structure. The boys take it down a notch to wrap up the E.P. with “Lifers“. This is a strong closing track to the E.P. and although I thought it was going to be long and drawn out (because it’s a ballad and it’s the last song), it was actually surprisingly short (at least it felt like it) leaving the listener wanting more, which is a very smart move on their part. The vocals on this track are very soft and smooth with a very “Coldplay“-like vibe to them really showing how the band can flawlessly pull off numerous dynamic ranges. “How Good Does It Feel” E.P. is the first thing I’ve heard from Empires. It’s really nice to come across a new artist that doesn’t fill their music up with gimmicks and/or use their image to lead the band and also know the importance of simplicity and solid structures and melodies in song writing. I look forward to hearing more from these guys!
EMPIRES – “How Good Does It Feel” EP: 9 out of 10
A little bit about Empires … the band just signed to Chop Shop / Island Records, will make their TV debut on Letterman June 17th, were picked by NPR as one of the 100 SXSW best discoveries, and will play a bunch of cool festivals like Bonnaroo, Hangout (this past weekend), Austin City Limits and Summerfest. The band will also tour with The Chain Gang of 1974 in July.
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