Artist : Up The Empire
Album : Light Rides The Super Major
Label : The Cougar Label
Genre : Indie
Bitrate : 211 kbps avg
Source : CD (LP)
Playtime : 00:40:47 (65 MB)
Rls date : 2007-02-19
Store date : 2007-05-08
[Track List]
1. Volcano 4:08
2. This Machine Blows Minds!!! 3:55
3. Sad Sad Shouting 4:06
4. Careful What You Say 3:49
5. Stars At Noon 3:34
6. Not Working 4:08
7. Keep Wasting Your Time 5:24
8. Breaking The Last Window 4:36
9. Starter Motor 2:47
10.Feel Like Dying 4:20
Up The Empire was formed in the summer of 2004 in Brooklyn, NY. Though the band
was previously known as Kilowatthours, you'd be hard
pressed to tell that it was even the same band. Once light and atmospheric, the
band has now shifted all gears towards crunchy,
dynamic and tight rhythms with playful guitars and super melodic vocals (often
with the entire band singing together).
While Kilowatthours was singularly and softly voiced
by singer/guitarist Chris Renn, Up The Empire now opens things up to multiple
voices allowing room not just for the softness and
desperation of Chris's voice, but for singer/bassist Dan Hewins' aggressive,
almost J. Robbins-ish, voice and singer/guitarist
Doug Keith's rattling, J. Mascis type voice to saturate the songs as well.
According to Keith, "People say that we sound like
what would happen if Dinosaur Jr. kicked Queens of the Stone Age's ass and then
went out back to party with Oneida and Deerhoof."
In fact, the only member of the band that's not
always attached to a mic is drummer Ben Lord. He's a hard-hitting drum-pounding
machine whose sound is often described as being
Bonham-esque, making little to no time to worry about vocals. Prior to Up The
Empire and Kilowatthours, Ben was the drummer for
Louisville's post-hardcore darlings Elliott and before that, Falling Forward.
Up The Empire has been recording their debut release, the Seaside EP (released
Feb 07, 2006), with various producers over the course
of the past year. For "Stars at Noon" the band went to Dean Baltulonis (The
Explosion, Paint It Black) at Atomic Studios; for
"Starfuck" and "Recover" Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Erase Errata) flew in from San
Francisco to work with the band at Seaside Studios;
and for the big and open "Careful What You Say" the band recorded themselves in
their Brooklyn rehearsal space, where they could best
capture the laid back, yet intense, nature of the song.
The Seaside EP is full of stick-in-your head dynamic noise-rock tunes that
alternate in tone from intense and moody to airy and
upbeat, and all with lyrics that aren't afraid to let it all hang out. From the
quiet and brooding disc opener "Careful What You Say"
to loud and bone-crushing "Stars at Noon", they're just giving you a little
taste of what they're capable of.