Reviews

Whereas label mates Mayhew The Traitor take the genre conventions of folk and alt-country and experiment with them to the point that they're almost unrecognizable, Empty Orchestra stick to those conventions and the result is an album that's neither innovative or unique.

Here Lies Empty Orchestra, the newest release from this Flint, Michigan band is nothing special. The eleven tracks amount to little more than a glossy pop record with a country vibe to it. It's not a terrible record, it's just nothing special.

That being said, there are a few standout tracks that, on their own, are fantastic. "This Heart is a Monster" starts out like the rest of the songs but in the last third turns into a very Rain Dogs-era Tom Waits style jam. The same is true for "World on a String." These little twists are as welcome a surprise as you're likely to find on this album. The strength of the few gems on this record beg the question as to why Empty Orchestra didn't just release an EP or spend more time writing songs rather than pumping out an album consisting of mostly filler tracks.

This is a talented band. Some of that shows through on this record, but the rest of it just feels lazy, like they were rushing to put out a record and sacrificed quality for quantity. It's unfortunate, because when these guys are good, they're very good.