Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun are the sound of summer. Not just summer ‘09, but every summer, on every continent. I firmly believe they are the rare band that truly has universal appeal. How could you not enjoy this? I’m slack-jawed at the very idea.
The band, consisting of the Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele and PNAU’s Nick Littlemore, effortlessly combine 70s AM Gold melodies with Modular electropop, resulting in some of the most heartwarming and uplifting music you’ve ever heard. Putting on the record is like entering a sort of pop nirvana bliss where your physical body ceases to exist and your consciousness just floats through the cosmos. Hyberbole? Yes. But it’s how I feel when I listen to this. It’s so damn joyous that even if I was in the worst possible mood I’d be instantly cheered up by putting it on.
I could name the musical touchstones they manage to conjure up or refer to here, but there are honestly so many it would be pointless. Besides, they often change within a single tune, so if I say a particular track starts off sounding like Hall & Oates joining forces with The Beach Boys, it will be totally irrelevant by the end of the song because it’s all morphed into something else entirely. It’s all very retro, but impossibly modern. I think they might be the musical equivalent of Doctor Who’s paradox machine. The universe should collapse, but it doesn’t.
I don’t have any mp3s to offer unfortunately, but if you visit the band’s website and join their mailing list, you get a free mp3 of unreleased track ‘Romance To Me’. In the meantime, you can enjoy this track from The Sleepy Jackson’s 2003 album, Lovers. Also be sure to watch Empire’s video for lead single ‘Walking on a Dream’.
Walking on a Dream is out April 21st on Astralwerks.
Tags: empire of the sun, Music Videos, New Bands
good write up! I’ve been looking forward Walking on a Dream since I stumbled upon Empire’s myspace a few weeks ago. this is the first I’ve seen of their music video. very cool. thx!