Those of you who were with me when I was on Blogger may recall that in 2006 I picked a little-known record by a band called Empty Rooms as one of the best offerings of that year. It’s taken them a while, but they’re back. And they’re still excellent.
“Lacuna” finds Empty Rooms as spooky as ever, but the lead track, “All’s Well,” breaks new ground for them. Eschewing the echoey indie guitar for monk-like chanting, the band ventures even deeper into Radiohead territory than they’ve ever gone before. And the results are transcendent. The other three songs on the EP reflect the band’s movement into even deeper contemplative and meditative music. There’s still the occasional crunchy riff, but the focus is on percussion and mood, chants and swells.
The album isn’t available yet, but if you go here, you can pre-order it.
Do it. Now.
