Release Date: 24 January 2025
Song Count: 14
Duration: 50 minutes, 25 seconds
Rating: 7.2/10
Description:
Song Count: 14
Duration: 50 minutes, 25 seconds
Rating: 7.2/10
Description:
What happens when two musician friends, one from an alternative rock band and one from an electronic dance project, come together to make music in-between? Apparently, speculation seems to be not needed thanks to Empire of the Sun, a conjoined duo from Australia with exactly this dynamic, whose most recent album we are taking a listen to today. The deluxe edition of Ask That God, released five months after the initial work's release from July 2024, is the most modern evolution of the duo's music coming together where heavily digital instrumentation meets the structure and lyricism from a genre that extends deeper, though any more direct non-pop influences are heavily sanded down in this case. What we have here is a synth pop album with a widely appealing sound that then draws in a mixture of influences.
Beats inspired by disco and older kinds of electro tunes accompany equally retro-futuristic sounding synths, digital projections of instruments like electric guitars and sound effects as the tracks envelop one into a breeze light in weight that carries an almost refreshing feeling along with it. Even without straying too far from a certain pop music structure inserted into each track, highlight songs and moments pop up often enough to keep retention, and the vocals taking a back seat when it comes to taking attention keeps a balance with sonic coherence throughout. Though sounding like a selection of music one could easily find playing on mainstream radio, the lyrics seem to express at least a little more than simple platitudes matching the light-hearted sound, instead attempting to reflect on the current zeitgeist in subtle and vaguely worded ways.
Neither Ask That God, nor its deluxe version, will take the musical scene by storm and shatter our current understanding of what it means to engage in this medium by any stretch of the imagination. That said, in spite of the "safe" synth pop sound, the album proves to be a solid addition to the Sydney duo's catalogue and a return to form mirroring their earlier works. A perfectly fitting soundtrack to enjoy the summer weather in the northern hemisphere - provided that said weather is actually present at the minute wherever you may be reading from, which it really is not here where I am at - with its cheery, digestible sound and tasteful use of stylistic elements without leaning enough in any direction to alienate anyone. Perhaps just a little bloated from the few lesser interesting tracks, though.