Apoplexy of Man: EMPIRE! EMPIRE! (I was a lonely estate)

Where to begin with these guys. They are pretty much some of the coolest, most talented musician's I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Stemming out of Fenton, Michigan they are Keith, Cathy, Ahmad, and Jon. During their summer tour -which would inevitably lead to their new album release- I held a show for them in my Hagerstown garage back in August. It was bunch of good times, well other than the fact that I was suffering from mono-ish symptoms. Anyway! The show was great, other local bands such as The Usual,мища, and Eat People played along with them. We ended the day talking about Nintendo and eating my mums fresh baked brownies while my neighbors called the cops on us. They recently released their full length entitled What It Takes To Move Forward which, after their first ep in 2007 When The Sea Became A Giant, was an incredibly step forward (no pun intended). What It Takes is an accomplishment both in a lyrical sense and in a musical sense. It kind of reminds me of a roller coaster. It has aspects of their first demo which is incredibly more indie based; melodic and smooth; as well as that old midwest emo feel to the lyrics. What It Takes To Move Forward tells an incredibly story in every song that makes you feel very in touch with the members and their emotions.

I feel that Empire! Empire!(I was a lonely estate) is simply a must listen to band for anyone who enjoys good emo and the 90's. Definitely for fans of bands like, Street Smart Cyclist, Snowing, and The Summer We Went West. They're also on an incredibly good label named Count Your Lucky Stars where you can purchase most of their albums! Hopefully I can get them to play around Hagerstown again this coming summer; so if you missed them last time you can get yourself another chance! Here's a video of them playing "Keep What You Have Built Up Here" from What It Takes To Move Forward in my garage: