So, Bring On Mixed Reviews

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) – What It Takes To Move Forward – Review

Release Date: September 29th, 2009
Record Label: Count Your Stars Records
Genre: Indie

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), or as I like to refer to them, the most convoluted band name since The Number Twelve Looks Like You, recently had their latest effort “What It Takes To Move Forward” tossed onto my desk. Being weary of it because indie bands often like to overly-complicate everything in an attempt to appear intellectual, which kept me on my toes. Such is life in a majority of the indie scene I suppose. Thankfully with E!E!’s latest release, we are spared from this indignity.

We are however subject to the slow moving and echoed march that indie bands like to implore. Garage’y in nature, Empire! Empire! still has that new band smell along with lo-fi production and mastering. But that isn’t something you pay attention to while you soak in the smooth melodic waves of indie. Harmonizing guitars and delicate/building drum work are what take “What It Takes To Move Forward” those extra steps past the average. Vocally, while Keith remains tempered and calm, his voice sounds a lot like a melancholy Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), which is most apparent in tracks like “Rally the Troops! Poke Holes In Their Defenses!” However, when he stretches his voice to broader ranges, it can sound like a squealing version of Thursday‘s Geoff Rickly, which is not too pleasant. But when kept mellow, everything holds together well.

What I was able to appreciate about this effort was its growing musicianship and constructing pace, which tells you that while “What It Takes To Move Forward” is patched together with amateur stitching that sounds like a demo, that Empire! Empire! has no where to go but up in terms of production and if they are able to keep their solemn/echoed indie atmosphere. So think of this as their first step — it stumbles a bit, but its melodic fretwork and authentic sound make for a great step forward for the band. ~Staff

Score: 3.5/5

Track Listing:
1. How to Make Love Stay
2. Keep What You Have Built Up Here
3. What Safe Means
4. It Happened Because You Left
5. Rally the Troops! Poke Holes In Their Defenses! Line Our Coffers With Their Coffins!
6. It’s a Plague, and You’re Invited
7. Everything Is Connected and Everything Matters (A Temporary Solution to a Permanent Problem)
8. The Next Step to Regaining Control
9. With Your Greatest Fears Realized, You Will Not Be Comforted
10. I Am a Snail, and You Are a Pace I Cannot Match
11. An Idea Is a Greater Monument Than a Cathedral