Empath - Visitor (February 11, 2022)

ItsAndrew · Nov 9, 2021

01. Genius of Evil
02. Born 100 Times
03. Diamond Eyelids
04. Passing Stranger
05. Corner of Surprise
06. House + Universe
07. Elvis Comeback Special
08. 80s
09. V
10. Bell
11. Paradise

On Visitor, 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) Randall 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; Jem Shanahan, who plays a ‘90s children’s keyboard, had Portrait filter it in such a way that it sounded “less childlike”; Catherine Elicson’s vocals, buried deep in the mix on Active Listening: Night on Earth, take center stage; and Garrett Koloski’s 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.”

Visitor attempts to fill space, both physical and psychic, visible and invisible. The album’s cover was photographed by Andrew Emond, who captures the interiors of abandoned buildings. “The spaces look lived in and altered by humans but no humans are present,” Elicson reflects. “The songs are similar in the sense that they talk about the ‘space’ between people. They’re not about specific people per se, but they illustrate the feelings people leave between each other, these subjective experiences. You can think of Visitor as a soundtrack to the memories and feelings that remain in places people have left behind.”

Empath included a series of samples on Visitor, all of which cohere to make the album sound as if it's disrupting ambient noise. “Audio was taken from films, minecraft, a cassette of nature sounds from the Bayou, recordings of an air conditioner, and a church choir heard through the walls of the warehouse we rehearse in,” Elicson says. “It’s a collage of sounds intended to produce a feeling of hearing life through the walls.” Visitor attempts to bridge the space between. It’s an impossible task, surely, but the result of their efforts produces a transcendent experience all its own.

Carrow · Nov 9, 2021

SUPER fucking tight 30-minute record inbound, folks. The new single is a great indicator of where they're headed.

OhTheWater · Nov 9, 2021

dope

Leftandleaving · Nov 11, 2021

hope this will be the one to get me onboard

Nate_Johnson · Jan 12, 2022

ItsAndrew · Feb 8, 2022

phaynes12 · Feb 8, 2022

wrote about this for Post-Trash, should be up this week. really love this album!

ItsAndrew · Feb 10, 2022

This is out today!

phaynes12 · Feb 10, 2022

my review is coming out tuesday for whatever reason, i’ll share when it’s up!

wisdomfordebris · Feb 11, 2022

I definitely like this more than the debut. Really good, energetic stuff.

radiodead · Feb 11, 2022

An incredible album.

“80’s” is special

Elder Lightning · Feb 11, 2022

This is chaotic in the best way.

oncenowagain · Feb 12, 2022

Big Thief and this on the same weekend is a gift

Leftandleaving · Feb 17, 2022

Leftandleaving said:

hope this will be the one to get me onboard

Looks like it

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Empath - Visitor (February 11, 2022)

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Empath - Visitor (February 11, 2022)

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maybe this time, I won't be alright Supporter

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