May 29 2008

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) – Year of the Rabbit 7"

Category: Music In My Earsdryvetyme @ 14:01
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Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) - Year of the Rabbit 7"

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)
Year of the Rab­bit 7
Count Your Lucky Stars Records; 2008

Back in the day (boy, do I sound old), being an emo band didn’t mean that there was some pre­de­ter­mined uni­form of tight jeans, ironic t-​shirts, and eye­liner that must be donned before the music was per­formed. It used to mean that one had an unabashedly huge heart and the abil­ity to craft intense pop songs with­out any anger or irony present. It’s that ethos that jumps out from the onset of the Year of the Rab­bit 7 from Michi­gan quar­tet Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). The 7” is com­prised of two tracks that reflect the dual nature of cer­tain strains of ‘90s emo: the A-​side, “Year of the Rab­bit,” evokes a moody intro­spec­tion that refuses to become ugly in the face of pain, while the B-​side, “IDK, My BFF Jill,” finds the band wax­ing melan­cholic as they regard their hurt, but doing so with a louder, more earnest voice. There’s a steady pac­ing and pas­sion present here, rem­i­nis­cent of Sunny Day Real Estate’s more mel­low mate­r­ial. Stay tuned for the band’s full-​length release later on in 2008.

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)
Year of the Rabbit 7”
Count Your Lucky Stars Records; 2008

Back in the day (boy, do I sound old), being an emo band didn’t mean that there was some predetermined uniform of tight jeans, ironic t-shirts, and eyeliner that must be donned before the music was performed. It used to mean that one had an unabashedly huge heart and the ability to craft intense pop songs without any anger or irony present. It’s that ethos that jumps out from the onset of the Year of the Rabbit 7” from Michigan quartet Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). The 7” is comprised of two tracks that reflect the dual nature of certain strains of ‘90s emo: the A-side, “Year of the Rabbit,” evokes a moody introspection that refuses to become ugly in the face of pain, while the B-side, “IDK, My BFF Jill,” finds the band waxing melancholic as they regard their hurt, but doing so with a louder, more earnest voice. There’s a steady pacing and passion present here, reminiscent of Sunny Day Real Estate’s more mellow material. Stay tuned for the band’s full-length release later on in 2008.

One Response to “Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) – Year of the Rabbit 7"”

  1. Dryvetyme Onlyne » Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) – What It Takes To Move Forward says:

    [...] own in the band Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). When I first came across this outfit, I was digging the sounds of the Year Of The Rabbit 7”, and remarked that there were some strong pop smarts on display. A year later, What It Takes To [...]

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