To listen to Visitor is to imagine sitting on a park bench in a dilapidated post-apocalyptic Times Square overgrown with greenery and just soaking in the sounds of nature without any pollution or man-made noise.
Despite recording in a studio with a producer, the Philly band still thrive when their seams are showing.
A wondrous, modernist mix of LiLiPUT, Hüsker Du and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
The sleeve of Visitor is а handsome portrait of the interior of a hipster house. The paintwork is rose pink and margarine yellow, all the doors are ajar, but the house is empty and has a sinister chill about it. Which is the exact opposite feeling you get listening to the album.
Visitor captures emotions and the way we react to them in a full spectrum of colour, moving away from the fairly two dimensional monochrome approach, as nothing is inherently sad or happy.
It’s all about atmosphere, depth of feelings and flowing in and out of your comfort zone with this latest album by Empath.
I can’t really pinpoint what is lacking in this newest release from Philly noise pop group Empath, but it’s just not grabbing me the same way their 2019 album Active Listening: Night on Earth did. The energy is still there with Garrett Koloski’s wild drumming and Catherine Elicson manic vocal being the loudest thing in the mix and catchy hook still grabbing me from the 2 minute peppiness of “Born 100 Times” or those striking guitar lines of “Elvis Comeback ... read more
Genius of Evil • 6.7
Born 100 Times • 2
Diamond Eyelids • 2
Passing Stranger • 1.4
Corner of Surprise • 2
House + Universe • 3
Elvis Comeback Special • 2
80s • 2
V • 3
Bell • 2
Paradise • 2
This album has a lot of very very very fun songs, I fucking LOVE their vocalist she brings such amazing energy to every song and the whole band just exudes this fun aura that's impossible not to be charmed by, but I find the muddy mixing to be a detriment sometimes no matter how much I love the aesthetic. Songs like Genius of Evil and 80s have mixes so muddy that they come off more as amorphous walls of sounds with nothing but the hooks shining through, the rest of the album uses the noisy, ... read more
I used to listen to Times New Viking and always wish they would write catchier songs, too.
This album has a lot of very very very fun songs, I fucking LOVE their vocalist she brings such amazing energy to every song and the whole band just exudes this fun aura that's impossible not to be charmed by, but I find the muddy mixing to be a detriment sometimes no matter how much I love the aesthetic. Songs like Genius of Evil and 80s have mixes so muddy that they come off more as amorphous walls of sounds with nothing but the hooks shining through, the rest of the album uses the noisy, ... read more
Unfortunately, the album rather bored me. It builds up tension but loses the momentum quite quickly.
Favourite Songs: Passing Stranger, Elvis Comeback Special
1 | Genius of Evil 2:55 | 50 |
2 | Born 100 Times 2:08 | 80 |
3 | Diamond Eyelids 2:15 | 70 |
4 | Passing Stranger 4:07 | 80 |
5 | Corner of Surprise 1:01 | 60 |
6 | House + Universe 2:39 | 60 |
7 | Elvis Comeback Special 2:31 | 70 |
8 | 80s 2:15 | 60 |
9 | V 4:47 | |
10 | Bell 3:06 | 70 |
11 | Paradise 2:53 | 85 |