Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate)
What it Takes to Move Forward
Count Your Lucky Stars Records
7/10
Initially, when I review a band, I like to see who they list as influences, mainly because either a), it gives great insight as to what a band will sound like prior to actually listening to them, or b), it’ll show what pretentious pricks they are for listing The Jesus and Mary Chain and the Beatles as their primary influences. However, in this case Empire! Empire! neither appear pretentious nor ill- informed, but instead marries their influences to produce a unique blend of intricate guitar woven melodies and anthemic pop punk hooks, reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World and Minus the Bear. (Two of their primary influences, I might add). However, despite the lush arrangements, the element that mostly detracts from an otherwise great album is the piercing, off key shrieking put forth by singer/guitarist Keith. I do realize that man-wailing is the hip thing that all the cool kids are doing, but such a seriously lackluster vocal performance such as this deserves nothing less than a supreme bitch slap across the face. Just saying.
-Rick Hermansen