Evento

Empath at the Sinkhole

Empath
On February 11, 2021, Empath will release their sophomore full-length, Visitor, via Fat Possum, which marks a seismic shift for the scrappy quartet who came up playing shows on Northeastern DIY circuits and are now staring down a tour with Modest Mouse in the biggest rooms any of them have ever performed in. While the album holds steadfast to the careening, joyous noise Empath staked their name on, Visitor was produced by Jake Portrait, making it the first release the band has recorded with a producer in a formal studio. Jake has the technical expertise to make anything sound like anything, Elicson says.

Inspired by the disquieting scores of Nosferatu (1922) and The Wicker Man (1973) alongside David Bowies Low and forever favorites Fleetwood Mac, Empath sought to one-up the range of sounds heard on their previous album. During what he calls West Philly Christmas (the week undergrads at UPenn move out and leave piles of high-quality garbage out on the street) Coon recovered a suitcase organ with a sound bank from a Jamiroquai record preset on it, which he later played on the album, in addition to running samples on Ableton and acquiring a brand new synth; Shanahan, who plays a 90s childrens keyboard, had Portrait filter it in such a way that it sounded less childlike; Elicsons vocals, buried deep in the mix on Active Listening: Night on Earth, take center stage; and Koloskis drums are as capacious as they might be in a live set.

Our approach to songwriting, and what we constantly try to improve upon, is finding the meeting ground between all of our distinct points of view and ideas we are trying to achieve sonically and conceptually, Elicson says. We never want to be tied down to one type of song or sound, and we love all kinds of improvisational music. We try to fit everything we love into each song, and hopefully produce something new and exciting through that process of synthesis.

Algae Dust (STL)
https://ittakestimerecords.bandcamp.com/album/algae-dust-hennen

Crisis Walk Ins (STL)

7pm - doors
730pm - show
$12 adv / $15 dos
All Ages

*Proof of vaccination (two shots moderna or pfizer or 1 j &j) or negative covid test within 48 hours (at home tests not accepted) required - masks recommended while inside venue*