Derek McNelly
Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) Stream New LP You Will Eventually Be Forgotten
via Interview Magazine
Companion Ben Sears Illustrated Graphic Novel Ribbon
LP & Graphic Novel Out 8/19/14
via Topshelf & Count Your Lucky Stars Records
Fall US Tour w/ Free Throw Announced
NPR said the record is “worth the long wait” and Stereogum called it “a small-scale epic that sounds like a pleasing midpoint between the Get Up Kids and early Built To Spill.” Wondering Sound joined in to praise the record as well, adding “Songs are so rich in detail they feel more like short stories, the perfect complement to the band’s searching, moving music”.
A companion graphic novel to the new full-length, titled Ribbon, will also be released on August 19th. Illustrated by artist Ben Sears, known for his work with bands such as La Dispute, Andrew Jackson Jihad, The Wonder Years and countless others, Ribbon tells the stories behind the songs in eleven chapters of gorgeous imagery. You Will Eventually Be Forgotten may have taken half a decade to complete, but it was absolutely worth the wait. Every track on You Will Eventually Be Forgotten is a hallmark of the vivid storytelling that makes each Empire! Empire! song feel like a carefully handcrafted gift unique to the listener.
If the “emo revival” had royalty, Keith and Cathy Latinen of Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) might well be the genre’s king and queen. Hailing from the tiny town of Fenton, Michigan, what began as a solo project in 2006 for Keith has since grown to include Cathy and into a full-time gig. Between Empire! Empire! and their label, Count Your Lucky Stars, which was early to champion bands such as Into It. Over It. and Foxing, the husband/wife duo have been instrumental in bringing the sound back. Now the duo is poised to take an even bigger role in things, with the release of their their second full-length and upcoming Fall US tour with label mates Free Throw coming shortly (all tour dates below).
Empire! Empire! has crossed the US countless times and spanned the globe with four international tours, playing shows along the way with the likes of Mineral, The Early November, The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, Into It. Over It. and more. Impressively, they have perhaps one of the most storied discographies in their scene, including 4 EPS, 12 splits, their first full-length What It Takes to Move Forward and the soon to be released full length You Will Eventually Be Forgotten.
Tracklisting:
01) Ribbon
02) I Was Somewhere Cold, Dark… and Lonely
03) We Are People Here. We Are Not Numbers
04) A Keepsake
05) You Have to Be So Much Better than You Ever Thought
06) Stay Divided
07) Foxfire
08) Things Not Worth Fixing
09) If It’s Bad News, It Can Wait
10) It’s So Much Darker When a LIght Goes Out than When It Would Have Been If it Had Never Shone
11) The Promise That Life Can Go On No Matter How Bad Our Losses
Tour Dates:
09/15/2014 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s #
09/16/2014 – Nashville, TN @ Exponent Manor*
09/17/2014 – Atlanta, GA @ Wonder Root*
09/18/2014 – Savannah, GA @ Graveface HQ*
09/19/2014 – Orlando, FL @ Backbooth*
09/20/2014 – New Orleans, LA @ The Beatnik*
09/21/2014 – Houston, TX @ The Summit*
09/22/2014 – Austin, TX @ Holy Mountain*
09/23/2014 – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves*
09/24/2014 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Marshall House*
09/25/2014 – Kansas City, MO @ Art Closet Studio*
09/26/2014 – Moline, IL @ Blackhawk Room*
09/27/2014 – Chicago, IL @ Township*
10/01/2014 – Fargo, ND @ The New Direction*
10/02/2014 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag Records*
10/06/2014 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon Lounge*
10/08/2014 – Portland, WA @ Slabtown*
10/09/2014 – San Fransisco CA @ Submission*
10/10/2014 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Rock Shop*
10/11/2014 – Pomona, CA @ VLHS*
10/12/2014 – Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos*
10/13/2014 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Nile Underground*
10/14/2014 – Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Wonk*
10/15/2014 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Shred Shed*
10/16/2014 – Cheyenne, WY @ University of Wyoming*
10/17/2014 – Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown Jr*
10/18/2014 – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar*
10/19/2014 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Hoosier Dome*
10/20/2014 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s*
10/21/2014 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Mr. Roboto Project*
10/22/2014 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire*
10/23/2014 – Amnityville, NY @ The Woodshop*
10/26/2014 – Boston, MA @ T.T. & the Bear’s Place*
10/27/2014 – North Haven, CT @ Up All Night Collective*
10/28/2014 – Asbury Park @ Asbury Lanes*
10/29/2014 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery*
10/31/2014 – Gainesville, FL @ The Fest 13
# w/ Mineral & Into It. Over It.
* w/ Freethrow
http://topshelfrecords.com
http://cylsrecords.com
http://empireempireband.com
http://freebensears.com
No Comments