‘Our Simple Truths’ is very much a continuation of Emp!re’s last release, mini-album ‘Where The World Begins’. The simplistic but bouncy rock riffs still form the main backbone of the instrumentation, occasionally veering towards a slightly more prog, Coheed & Cambria sound, rather than straightforward rock.
Emp!re’s main strength has always been their choruses, and songs like ‘Sweet Apollo (Brighter Than The Sun)’ and ‘Sights’ have got ones that would put many of their contemporaries to shame. With his crazy range, Joe Green’s vocal lines turn what would otherwise be reasonably enjoyable, if a little ‘heard-this-all-before’, rock songs into something much bigger, something much more enjoyable and something that any fans of rock music would at least nod their head in appreciation too.
‘Our Simple Truths’ proves that Emp!re are ready to do a full-length album. If they can manage to write an album that keeps up the quality of the songs presented here then there’s no reason it shouldn’t be great. Put a song like ‘Sparrows’ next to basically anything that falls into the modern alt-rock wheelhouse and it will emerge victorious covered in blood and still grinning like a hyena.
ANDY LEDDINGTON