Empire "Expansive Sound" CD
[PPP]
This English rock band was originally formed by two members of Generation X and is being touted on this re-release as one of the truest originators of "emo", having apparently had an impact on the DC scene (according to many old-timers from said scene, such as Henry Rollins), and it's also alleged within the liner notes that Embrace stole a few of these riffs on their debut LP. I'm not so sure about that, but I will admit that musically some of this stuff does bear a striking resemblance to early Fugazi in my opinion. Take for instance the driving basslines and quirky, noisy guitars in "Hot Seat". This CD is basically a discography, collecting Empire's 1981 LP along with some bonus tracks and a handful of live songs from their second show. To me, I see very little connection between this music and anything that sounds remotely "emo" by contemporary standards, or even by earlier standards, but I think the dated 1981 recording and overall rock vibe are sort of adding to that. I guess I could imagine this inspiring some of the DC musicians that ended up leaving a real mark, but to me there isn't anything shockingly groundbreaking or moving about this material at all. I'm not that into the vocals, and the music is sort of all over the place, from the jarring delivery of the aforementioned "Hot Seat", to the rhythmic and dynamic "Enough of the Same", to the horribly bland and obnoxious jangly rock 'n' roll/fucked up blues aspects of "Turn it Round". Now, some of the writing is a bit more straightforward, and I like those songs better, notably the darker and more drawn out title track. Hell, "Today" has a few riffs that I think the Foo Fighters stole, but I'm not really catching anything that sounds like it was borrowed by Embrace. Maybe it's just me? The recording definitely sounds dated, but aside from some inconsistencies with the mix, it's not bad for what it is. It's dense and natural, with a raw sort of edge. The bass and drums sound really good, the guitars have a ringing distortion going on, and the vocals are a bit plain, but generally work alright. Most of the bonus tracks tend to be louder and thinner, with more emphasis on the biting edge of the guitars and louder vocals. Not bad, but a bit distracting as the tracks don't seem to have been mastered at sufficiently even levels. The remainder of the extras have a demo quality to them, definitely recorded at least partially (if not completely) live in a room together, as you can hear the natural reverb and distance between microphones and whatnot. The live songs sound pretty crappy, which is understandable considering their age. The layout is pretty simple. The band logo is used extensively, there are a few black and white photos, the liner notes get most of the point across (but could have been more detailed), etc. No lyrics are included or anything, so I think that more depth might have been in order, but this is more of a musical document than anything, so... I don't know, I might feel stronger about this if I wasn't four years old when it was originally released, as maybe then I'd have more of an appreciation for the supposed importance of this material. But even looking at it in the context of having been influential or what have you, I'm not really making the connection. This is a good record for sure, but aside from a few songs that might make me turn my head and ask, "Hey, who is that?", I can't say I'd find this to be crucial material by any means. (6/10)
Running time - 72:37, Tracks: 22
[Notable tracks: Today, Expansive Sound, Enough of the Same, World Record]
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