Release Date: Aug 19, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Hardcore Punk
Record label: Topshelf Recordings
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Emipre! Empire! I Was A Lonely Estate is one of the most heartwarming and endearing records this year —— minimal but filled to the brim with a quiet energy that disarms you. The Latinens focus on life's experiences, both sour and sweet, in a candid, melodic fashion that bears down heavily amid twinkly, simple indie/emo tones. The emotional weight drives you to the point where it feels like a diary being read to you over a sweet soundtrack.
Review Summary: As the years pass it's becoming more and more confusing as to why this band is spearheading the whole emo revival movement.Listening to empire! empire! (I was a lonely estate) is a lot like living in a loveless marriage-it’s sad and isolating, but somehow comfortable and familiar. Keith Latinen has always crafted music that recalls the emo greats, such as Penfold and Mineral, while carving out his own niche. Sure that niche is filled with painfully obvious emotional hooks and eye roll worthy confessional lyrics, but it’s a goofy and sweet delivery nonetheless.
If you think this husband and wife emo duo have a rather unconventional and long-winded name, wait until you see some of the song titles on their latest album, You Will Eventually Be Forgotten. Some of this stuff almost nudges into Sufjan Stevens Illinois territory: “The Promise That Life Can Go On No Matter How Bad Our Losses”. How about “It’s So Much Darker When a Light Goes Out Than It Would Have Been If It Had Never Shone”? Yes, this makes for some pretty longwinded stuff, but what’s most interesting about this album is that it has something of a narrative arc about marriage and death, as well as near-death experiences.
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