New Empire is an Australian rock band that is part of Tooth & Nail Records here in the U.S. The band has a brand new album coming out April 29, 2014 in the U.S. (album came out April 18 in Australia). In A Breath is the first I have heard of the band, and I must say they are a talented group. I also have to point out that the album artwork is awesome on this (check it out further down!). Read on and see if this album is worth picking up.
I listened through In A Breath, multiple times and some songs truly jumped out to me being absolutely fantastic, while a few can seem to not jump out as much to a listener. One thing that I really enjoy about this album is the powerful vocals from Jeremy Fowler. This is an album where the vocals are not lost behind strong instrumentals, and you can’t hear what is being sung. To me that is important aspect of this album. The band offers nice rhythm to the tracks where you are moving along to the music and don’t even realize that they have you moving. The lyrics throughout the album are well-written, and offer a lot of depth to the album that make it replayable for listeners.
New Empire kicks off the album with the track, “Tale of Jonah,” which was actually just recently released as a single. The song really sets you up for what you can expect throughout the album. The instrument playing of Kyle Lane, Jeremy Fowler, Nathan Cairns, and Kale Kneale is the real driving force behind the song. The track offers the listener deep lyrics, and a leading force into the rest of the album.
I want to jump ahead to one of my favorite songs on the album, “Relight the Fire.” The song kicks off with a nice beat that leads you into some rhythmic vocals. This is the first song on the album that jumped out to me, and I instantly liked it. The song is catchy and in no time you are able to sing along with the band. I think I really enjoy they rhythm to everything in this song. Also at the end of the album you can find an acoustic version of this song, which is awesome!
The next track, “Say It Like You Mean It,” is my absolute favorite on the album. The instruments sound amazing, and the vocals kick it off so nicely. Plus I’ve mentioned in reviews before that I’m a sucker for space references in music. I think the lyrics and vocals are just phenomenal on this song, and I feel sound the best on the album. This song just has win wrote all over it, and if I could only show someone one song by the band to get them to listen to New Empire it’d be this song.
While you will find other good tracks, like “In a Breath” and “Fallen Soldiers,” between this song and the end there are some forgettable tracks for me, such as, “Wise Fox” and “Left Behind,” but that could be also because both songs have a different feel than the other songs on the album.
The last song on the album is “Outshine the Brightest,” which has a great message. It is one of the slower songs on the album, but is powered through with it’s strong message. The song is good, but doesn’t seem like the strongest finish to the album. I do like that they added the acoustic track on to the end of the album. It is nice to hear an acoustic version of one of the strongest songs on the album.
Track Listing:
1. Tale of Jonah
2. The Sun Won’t Sleep
3. Relight The Fire
4. Say It Like You Mean It
5. In A Breath
6. Wise Fox
7. Fallen Soldiers
8. Left Behind
9. A Little Braver
10. Outshine the Brightest
11. Relight The Fire (Acoustic)
Favorite Tracks:
Say It Like You Mean It
Relight The Fire (Original and Acoustic)
Tale Of Jonah/Fallen Soldiers
Overall I think In A Breath is a good album though it does have some forgettable tracks. A lot of the songs kind of have a Coldplay sound to them, and many offer the listener an almost ambient listening experience. The songs are nice to listen to, but I think only some would have mass replayability. If you enjoy a softer rock sound then this is the album for you. I’d suggest checking out some of the songs on the album first, and then decide if this is the album for you.
[rating: 3.5/5]
Order your copy of In A Breath here
