Walking on a Dream

Empire of the Sun | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 21, 2009)
• Original Release Date: October 3, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B001GXPHX0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Electronica
  • #8 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Electronic Pop
  • #19 in Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > New Wave

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's more blissed out than a koala on Xanax." -- Rolling Stone Hot List 2/5/09

Product Description

U.S. pressing of the debut album from Empire Of The Sun, a collaboration between Luke Steele from The Sleepy Jackson and Pnau main-man Nick Littlemore. Though the occupy the same aural terrain as bands like MGMT, Empire Of The Sun stand out in the crowd, chiefly due to their exceptional melodies and the fact that they don't take themselves too seriously. The spectacular album art was created by multi-Aria award winning design studio Debaser and will look amazing in racks and store displays.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars EotS stand out from their peers April 27, 2009

By Matthew Ellis

Format:Audio CD

I have been constantly amazed at the depth of this album since picking it up earlier in the year. There hasn't been a band I've so strongly endorsed in years, and part of that is because I think it's accessible to so many different listeners. The production showcases the brilliants melodies perfectly. I haven't cared much for groups like MGMT that have all the feel but no depth. Those groups can certainly kick out a couple singles with catchy keyboard riffs, but they don't have the substance or lyrics to match. It's fitting that Empire of the Sun has such a strong fantasy concept and don't take themselves too seriously, yet have crafted an album that isn't mired in its own kitsch. This accomplishment is truly what sets them apart from the soundalikes that were in this sonic territory first.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Like walking on a dream... July 14, 2009

By Nse Ette TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

You'd be forgiven for thinking you were back in the Eighties, what with new CDs from Depeche Mode, Pet Shop boys, as well as Eighies-aping acts like La Roux, Little Boots, MGMT and Amazing Baby, to mention a few.

Add Aussie duo Empire Of The Sun to that list. If nice chiming guitars,shimmery synths, fun lyrics and stomping beats are your thing, look no further than the duo's debut "Walking on a dream". Comprising just 10 tracks at a little over 43 minutes, it is shiny Electro Pop perfection.

Sunny, and catchy describes much of the album with a sound matching their flamboyant androgynous image, from opening "Standing on the shore", "Walking on a dream" (with an airy falsetto sung chorus), the chugging "Half mast" to the guitar-festooned sublime "We are the people" ("We are the people/that rule the world" sung in strangled vocals - my absolute favourite).

The bouncy "Delta bay" features Gremlin-sounding vocals in the verses and airy falsetto everyhwere else, while "Country" is a lovely acoustic instrumental (think French duo Air ) with electronic flourishes that makes you feel you're by the sea. "The world" is a psychedelic ambient ballad with a swirling feel, while "Swordfish hotkiss night" is heavily Electro with whispered Prince-style vocals, stabbing synths and sitar effects. "Tiger by my side" takes us back to the bouncy Pop of the earlier half of the disc, while closing is the melancholic spare sounding synth-driven ballad "Without you" (think Ultravox's "Vienna").

Listening to this album, one feels as though "Walking on a dream".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Walking and Dreaming, but in Every Direction April 19, 2010

By Ian Toner

Format:Audio CD

Empire of the Sun's Walking on a Dream release is just as airy, ridiculous, and imaginative as the names of said band and album. Rising to prominence from the Australian electro-pop scene and unlikely cameos on hip-hop mixtapes (see Wiz Khalifa's track titled "The Thrill"), Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore's brainchild manages to blend Klaxon-, JET-, and MGMT-esque sounds and influences into a compelling composition.
Walking on a Dream opens with "Standing on the Shore," a track that would be better off without its lyrical accompaniment. Airy guitar and keyboard riffs woven together through mixed meter set the tone for a calm, almost ambient listening experience. Yet the high-pitched, whiny vocals, reminiscent of many British pop groups, ground the song by distracting the listener from tracking the evolution of its pleasant melody. "Walking On a Dream," the album's title track, is full of (surprise!) airy keyboard riffs that wax nostalgic for the days of neon-loving `80s pop. Its falsetto vocals and strong hip-hop beats (juxtaposed to the airier synth sounds) remind the listener of MGMT's Oracular Spectacular tracks. What's more, instances of light, isolated synth and keyboard melodies continue the pseudo-ambient listening experience started in "Standing on the Shore."
Walking On a Dream's subsequent tracks ("Half Mast," "We Are the People," and "Delta Bay") constitute a fairly serious departure from that pseudo-ambient environment that the first two tracks had worked to construct. The high-pitched, whiny vocals move closer and closer to center stage, and the tracks take on more JET-esque rock influences, with louder guitars and even the introduction of tambourines (of all instruments). These tracks definitely blend Empire of the Sun's sound into a number of music scenes (pop, electro-pop, alternative rock, etc.), rather than highlight or distinguish it apart from (or as an innovator in) those music scenes.
The rest of Empire of the Sun's debut album has very little unifying material, as there is little connection between the tracks. While there's nothing wrong with branching out and experimenting within an album, it's just surprising how disconnected many of the tracks are from one another. "Country" is a beautiful, rambling acoustic ballad that reminds the listener of Coldplay's lighter tracks off Viva la Vida (like Strawberry Swing and Lovers in Japan); "The World" plays up the whiny vocals once again and would fit much better on The Klaxons' next album; "Swordfish Hotkiss Night" ventures into entirely uncharted territory (previously on the album) by demo-ing sample-heavy, electronic (arguably electronische) sounds; "Tiger By My Side" brings airy guitars back to the forefront, reminding listeners of A-Ha's "Take On Me," with possible DX7-synthesizer influences; and "Without You" closes out the album with a mellow (but still airy!) ballad that was definitely crafted to be the slow song at some `80s high school prom or another.
Empire of the Sun clearly tried very hard to make Walking on a Dream live in the 1980s and 2000s at the same time. In many respects, it succeeds, as tracks like Walking on a Dream and We Are the People have risen on charts in the US, UK, and Australia. The catchy, keyboard-heavy melodies also make for some easy listening. But the album's experimentation into so many different fields definitely leaves the listener a little puzzled. For its next album, Empire of the Sun should focus on the elements in "Walking On a Dream," "We Are the People," "Country," and "Tiger on My Side" to develop its identity and zero in on an appealing sound with unifying themes.