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Tipped as one of America’s most inventive psychedelic rock bands that whip up a magical maelstrom, EMPATH have become known for mixing art-rock experimentalism with the sparkle of dreamy pop sensibilities and the grit of modern punk. All these elements are packaged neatly together to form the band’s unique and quirky brand of psychedelic rock. The melodic and melancholic fuzz of these four Philadelphia housemates takes their band name seriously, as they traverse the trials, tribulations and triumphs of emotional intimacy with everyone and everything. Visitor sees them push their sound further, seeking to one-up their previous outing Active Listening: Night On Earth. With a unique songwriting process in which everyone’s ideas are considered and pieced together with in the song, Visitor shows the band’s evolution as collaborative songwriters in an eccentric and eclectic way.
The immediate element that stands out with Visitor is the sheer quantity of different ideas that effortlessly weave in and out of each other. The union of opposing musical concepts being sewn together with a silver thread is a wonder to behold, as ambient noise meets synthesis and punk meets pop. Visitor’s clear aim is to fill a space, in both the physical and psychic sense as it blurs the lines between the visible and invisible. This is aided by EMPATH‘s use of samples taken from obscure places like Minecraft, air conditioner recordings, nature recordings from the Bayou and a church choir recorded through the walls of the band’s rehearsal space, alongside selected film samples. This adds some cohesion to the album, which is perfectly bookended with footsteps walking toward you in the beginner of Genius Of Evil and away from you at the end of album closer Paradise.
From the first moments of the album you’re placed within this paradoxically chaotic and comforting world where real and surreal come together with frightening ease, being guided through this by Catherine Elicson’s floating melodies that sit pleasantly between the swirling synths and steady drums. The songs are sonic representations of the album’s cover, in a sense that humans have lived here and altered it but there are no humans present. This strange interaction between what is present and what is past gives this album a distinctively unique character. The use of lyrical whimsy and instrumental heaviness introduces an interesting and intense dynamic, which makes you feel like you’re simply passing through the song. This transcendence is innovative, exciting and thought provoking.
Outside of the album’s comforting whimsy is a melancholy that feels very human. Neither accentuated or emphasised, but omnipresent and relatable. This is best demonstrated on Diamond Eyelids as Elicson explores how history comes to us in shards of memories and thought; the song has an air of desperation as a result of the two simultaneous melodies coalescing. It is both catchy and unnerving, whilst Elicson pieces together the shards of her memories. There are also punk sensibilities throughout the album; Born 100 Times is the closest EMPATH get to an old school punk song, with a punchy two chord progression drives the song forward whilst chaotic sounds unfurl and swirl all around your head. 80s channels the feverish process of just feeling, moving between fast-paced riffing and short, sharp ethereal sections. House + Universe makes you feel everything and anything, simultaneously empty and hollow whilst also being cosy and comforting, mimicking the album artwork but also telling its own story.
EMPATH have created an album that is all about feeling, but in the most down to earth and human way. Visitor captures emotions and the way we react to them in a full spectrum of colour, moving away from the fairly two dimensional monochrome approach, as nothing is inherently sad or happy. With footsteps making an appearance throughout the album, you really do get a sense of passing through. EMPATH have definitely one upped themselves with a truly beautiful album that demonstrates the frantically indecisive nature of human emotions.
Rating: 8/10
Visitor is set for release on February 11th via Fat Possum Records.
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