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Empire of the Sun “Walking on a Dream”
Filed Under Updates
I’m wary of the iTunes Free Single of the Week. They’re usually contemporary retro tunes that come off very affected, as if they’re aping genre for nostalgia only. It’s the difference between Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino rips off a genre and gives it meaning, Ritchie does it for style and little substance. Most of the time, I’ll listen to the thirty second sample of the song and pass. I can only take so much synth-driven garage rock and there’s only so much space on my hard drive.
Empire of the Sun is the artist for this week’s free single download. Movie fans will notice the use of the title of Spielberg’s 1987 film of the same name. Like Spielberg, Empire is a little musically-hamfisted, but the work is well-crafted enough that we don’t mind. Before listening to the sample of “Walking on a Dream”, I had to laugh at the artwork. Walking on a Dream’s cover will make many, many Worst Album Art of the Year lists with its faux Drew Struzan Star Wars-cum-Dune-cum-East Indian pirate illustration. And, with anything Struzan-related, it takes itself very seriously. If the cover were a movie poster, it’s something Dwight Schrute would look at, say “Awesome” under his breath, and buy a ticket for the midnight premiere. Or maybe it’s abandoned concept art for Siegried and Roy. It’s art. You decide.
With the “so bad, it’s good” cover, I gave the thirty second clip a listen. Remember Yacht Rock? These guys would fit right in, and given my proclivity for Steely Dan, Hall and Oates, and McDonald-era Doobie Bros., I downloaded the track with a smile.
Empire blatantly takes a trip to the late 70s and early 80s, and he does it well. Mellow keyboards, understated beats, falsetto vocals, it’s all here. Maybe my wariness of free iTunes singles has more to do with my genre tastes than it does with actual quality, but “Walking on a Dream” is a fine song, and anyone with strong pop sensibilities should appreciate it. OK, anyone who can listen to “What a Fool Believes” as much as I can will dig it. At any rate, it’s free.
Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream mp3
Will Thompson enjoys putting somewhat carefully chosen words in relatively meaningful order.
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empire of the sun is two dudes, just fyi
The guys in the band are Nick Littlemore from PNAU and Luke Steele from The Sleepy Jackson.