Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) (Fenton, Michigan)

Keith (vocals/guitar)
Cathy (guitar/vocals)
DJ (bass, vocals)
Ryan (drums)

Year of the Rabbit 7-inch (Count Your Lucky Stars Records / Strictly No Capital Letters)

Tracklist:

Side A: Year Of The Rabbit
Side B: IDK, My BFF Jill

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) is undoubtedly a band on the move. The Michigan quartet’s latest 7-inch, Year Of The Rabbit, is proof of that. Conceived in 2006 as a solo project of Keith Latinen, Empire! Empire!’s first release, When the Sea Became a Giant, received critical acclaim from press and peers alike. It was the kind of record that created a rush of nostalgia for fans 90s’ indie / emo. Now, backed by a full band, Year Of The Rabbit continues down that same path forged by Latinen, but offers even more definition and purpose to the unmistakable sound.

Unabashedly fueled with passion and honesty, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) is a band intent on touching the listener. Latinen describes the sound as “a throwback to really pretty, heart-on-your-sleeve, gut-wrenching stuff…that when you listen, you can tell the artist is pouring their heart out.”

This is what epitomizes the music of Empire! Empire!; it strives for an visceral connection between artist and listener. Year Of The Rabbit finds the band honing their skills and moving even closer to that goal. The instruments rise and fall as they carve out their own niche behind the charismatic Latinen. His vocals are moving and his words breathe sincerity. Harkening back to a simpler time - when emotion was real and never calculated -it’s impossible not to feel Empire! Empire! The band leaves no doubt they are growing into something amazing right before our eyes. We’re just lucky have the opportunity to watch it all unfold.

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) is Keith Latinen (vocals/guitar), Cathy Latinen (guitar/vocals), Rich Ayers (bass) and Jon Murrell (drums). Joe Sak also plays drums on the record. Year Of The Rabbit was recorded by Keith Latinen, mixed by Minus the Bear’s Alex Rose (Mewithoutyou, City On Film) and mastered by Rick Fisher. The record is being co-released on the band’s own label in the U.S., Count Your Lucky Stars, and on Strictly No Capital Letters in the UK. There were 550 copies pressed (50 black / 500 white). Included with the vinyl is a Count Your Lucky Stars sampler…which also includes both songs from Rabbit (tracks 1 and 2). The band’s debut album, When the Sea Became a Giant, was released in 2007. Later this year, Empire! Empire! will release its first full-length on Count Your Lucky Stars, supplemented by a steady diet of touring.

Reviews:

Absolute Punk
Can You See The Sunset?
Decoy Music
Delusions Of Adequacy
Diatribe
Dryvetyme Onlyne
Exclaim
For The Sound
Foxy Digitalis
Jersey Beat
Late Night Wallflower
Lucky 13 Zine
Manual Dexterity
Mutiny Zine
Pop Wreckoning
Punknews.org
Read Junk
Rock And Roll And Meandering Nonsense
Scene Point Blank
Sound As Language
Sparkplugg
Suspect Device
Swimmer’s Ear Magazine
What We Hate
30 Music

Press Contact: Will Miller / Beartrap PR / will@beartrappr.com / 803-361-4662