Empire of the Sun 'Walking On A Dream'

by Marcus on Oct 06 2008, 11:00AM

Empire of the Sun
Walking on a Dream
EMI

Empire of the Sun is the latest project from Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore; aka the bare chested self-flagellating one from psych-poppers Sleepy Jackson and the...bare chested self-flagellating one from psych-poppers PNAU. It's a union written in the stars.

The duo's debut is Walking on a Dream; a 43 minute sun-drenched mid-tempo excursion into easily-digestible, shiny pop. First single 'Walking on a Dream' is the hit; a pure distillation of the duo's background and strengths. An effortlessly laid-back, atmospheric groove provides an uncluttered bed for Steele's odd voice and phrasing; his refrain 'We are always running for the thrill of it / Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it' anticipating the good vibes on the dancefloor it deserves.

Clustered about the tune are similarly breezy, dappled pop gems. 'Standing on the Shore', 'Half Mast' and second single 'We Are The People' all stick to this winning framework. Acoustic guitar and a few lead electric guitar lines add some life but otherwise the synths, soft pad sounds and falsetto choruses prove Empire of the Sun's default setting.

The record's top heavy however, and when they try to change gear the filler sets in. 'Delta Bay' is a strangely melody-free and cheap sounding stomp with annoying, throwaway vocals. The instrumental wash of 'Country' befits the album's fantasy/science fiction aesthetic, but veers dangerously close to waterfall music, while 'The World' is the bands shot at a Flaming Lips style everyman plea to the stars. Instead of expansive, Steele sounds lost and and small, struggling with his own place in the song.

The tone then shifts bizzarely and awesomely, with 'Swordfish Hotkiss Night' - the album's left-turn and second highlight. More reminiscent of the oddball creepiness inherent in PNAU's 'Strawberries', it has Steele doing his best 50 Cent drawl amongst a tense, jerky hip-hop jam that end's up - improbably - sounding like Tom Wait's band going for a Prince hit. Fairly ace. With the rest of the album rounding out with 'Tiger By My Side' and the cheeseball 80s high school slow-dance of 'Without You', it's a neat package the duo have dreamed up.

It should be noted that Littlemore's PNAU co-hort Peter Mayes had a hand in writing half of the album's tracks, lending cred to the feeling that some of these songs sound like lesser PNAU tunes. But it's a neat pairing this union and with the highlights shining brightly, perhaps with a bit more history they can sustain the inter-stellar love for a full album.