Empire Of The Sun - Walking on A Dream: Album Review

Empire Of The Sun is Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore.

You may know these two super talented Aussies as members of The Sleepy Jackson (Steele) and Pnau (Littlemore).But together they have been tipped by everyone including the neighbours’ cat to be one of the biggest new acts of 2009.

Their debut album 'Walking On A Dream' combines the musical strengths of both individuals with Steele's distinct vocals and the eccentricity of Pnau's more weird and wonderful tracks. It kicks off with 'Standing On The Shore', a colourful, Balearic, electro pop track setting the tone for the album. But the song that has everyone talking about them is the ethereal Walking On A Dream which is infectious on the first listen and is reminiscent of MGMT and their quirky production.

Described by someone I know, (whom shall remain nameless) as Spinal Tap with their odd get up and nostalgic tribute to 80's psychedelic electro pop.

However it's obvious when you listen, that Empire Of The Sun are more than a gimmick.

The second single due from the album 'We Are The People' is not dissimilar to the first but starts off with just a vocal and an acoustic guitar and builds into another summery synth pop classic. It gets a bit haunting with 'Country' half way through the album bringing a Twin Peaks type eeriness to put you off track a bit. Adding to the fantasy styling of the album 'Swordfish Hotkiss Night' could be mistaken as a track from Prince's back catalogue, circa 1988, with some crazy rapping and a killer soundtrack and this is probably one of my favourite tracks on the album.

As a whole, it is an interesting and spiritual collaboration between both artists, with their majestic theme and kooky demeanour and one that has the music world talking about them. The album lives up to its hype and further more so do the band. www.walkingonadream.com www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound