Empire of the Sun Artist Review



Posted: Thursday, June 04, 2009

by James Hay
Avenue61

Fed up? Miserable? Bored? Put Empire Of The Sun in your pipe and smoke it. If Bat For Lashes, The Klaxons and MGMT have already beaten a path to your door, these synth-driven pop technicians will not be needing a giant wooden horse to beguile themselves inside your city limits.

mpire Of The Sun are Australian duo Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, the former of The Sleepy Jackson, the latter of Pnau, bands which have garnered critical acclaim without making a major commercial splash. In an act of joyous spontaneity, or a re-branding exercise, Steele and Littlemore have joined forces, drawing on the history of ancient civilizations and spaced-out sci-fi to establish a colourful and appealing mythology for the music produced as a result of their collaboration. They come wearing fabulous costumes, starring in elaborate music videos, and mumbling explanations of the arcane concepts behind their creative vision - but what happens when you strip those things away?

Walking On A Dream is the first single from Empire Of The Sun's album of the same name, out on February 16, a blissful, synth-tinged pop ballad. It sounds a lot like Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time. Did they rip it off? Electronic music is just as exciting now as it was back in the 80s, and it is to be expected that contemporary moog fiends, such as Littlemore, find themselves, consciously or not, borrowing heavily from the sound of that era. But Cyndi Lauper?

If they did rip it off, they did good. Walking On A Dream floats along on gently surging organ chords and fragile, rhythmic guitar, with soft but precise drum machine beats providing momentum. You can imagine loved-up indie kids slow-dancing to this. Sure, it doesn't really go anywhere: instead, it immerses listeners in sound until the euphoria of the song takes hold.

The lyrics are poetic, impenetrable, and intimate. It is an unexpectedly romantic track, one which captures the breathlessness of a chance encounter. Steele's vocals can be whiny in the verses, but the delivery of the chorus in falsetto, achingly groovy would have done Prince proud.

I only have one question. Where's the mythological element? Fact is; this track is about as otherworldly as my left elbow. Experienced in context, with the dramatic costumes, arch posing and cryptic imagery in tow, you realise that Empire Of The Sun's music is not as avant-garde as their make-up. With their entertainingly bizarre image and shimmering electro-pop output, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore are going places, but I am not sure their final destination will be the stars.

Avenue61 is a leading indie music site that specialises in breaking new bands and providing alternative music reviews.
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