I want you all to close your eyes and picture if you will, a moment in your life that is absolutely nothing, but 100% sheer unbridled joy. Play it through in your mind. Now, accompany that moment with a piece of music of your choice. Is it a classical or orchestral piece? Well it should be. It’s a common fact that orchestral-style music is the most “complete” sound, it essentially covers all bases thanks to the vast ensemble of instruments. Now, I’m not going to sit here like some classical hipster with my thick, black framed lens-less glasses and oversized Mozart t-shirt – I don’t claim to be the world’s biggest classical music fan. But if you want music to give you the most clear sense of feeling, then orchestral music can provide that in abundance.
It’s a concept used by U.K. band Our Last Confession. Formed in 2002 and based in Nottingham, Our Last confession already have a sizable back catalogue to their name which includes a couple of E.Ps and their debut album December Echo which was released back in 2007. Around that time Myspace was the go-to website for bands and especially smaller, newer bands. Our Last Confession utilized this and in a short space of time and on the back of a tour of the UK, they had built a reputation as a promising and accomplished band amongst the Nottingham underground music scene.
Our Last Confession then took a break for family reasons, but lead vocalist/guitarist Rich Beck didn’t stop making music – he released a solo E.P under the pseudonym Twisted Kite. Fast-forward a couple of years and Rich Beck and fellow guitarist Andrew Jackson were at the time working on a peculiar blend of dubstep and alt acoustic in their self-built home studios. The two of them had begun to work with production software such as Cubase and Pro Tools until they began to feel the itch of playing in a loud rock band. They enlisted their former band mates, drummer Kev Watts and bassist Matt Tongue, and together they began to write songs together again. The result was 2013’s Embers to Empires was born.
Opening track “Blisters” is essentially the whole album in one bite size form. The opening 90 seconds is a gorgeous, rich sounding string ensemble. The production quality is top notch and it does well to plant the seed of the rest of Embers To Empires. The orchestral intro crashes into a heavy guitar driven riff commonly used in the recent offerings from Biffy Clyro. In comes Beck with a angst-ridden vocal style which goes well with the brash nature of the rest of the song. The chorus is full of emotion and is very easy on the ear.
Our Last Confession get angry on following track “Cello-Tape”, the shouty repeated pre-chorus of “fight fire with fire” foreshadows the chorus very well. We’re then told to “stay in line and don’t try to argue” on track 3, “Stay In Line”, which is much of the same as the previous song. The band aren’t afraid to take it down a few pegs, demonstrated on songs such as “Who Can Forget” and the impressive “City Skies”. There are orchestral flashes throughout the whole album and it does a great job of adding an extra veneer of feeling and emotion. The production overall is excellent too, with Paul Joyce taking the engineering reins (look up his list of previous productions, it’s pretty impressive) and doing a great job in bringing out the band’s overall sound and giving their music a very accomplished feel.
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Frontman Rich Beck has stated that Embers To Empires is mostly influenced by 90’s grunge and Robert Smith’s poignant, puzzling, and layered lyrics from songs by The Cure during the 1980’s. The album also bears resemblance to music by fellow UK band Brigade in it’s no nonsense guitar sound and vocal style. The lyrics themselves have a very positive theme for the most part and they are able to switch to an angrier standpoint when the song requires.
Embers To Empires is a strong album, a timely reminder that some modern bands won’t all succumb to ‘second album syndrome’. The members of Our Last Confession are all competent musicians and the various orchestral sections add another level to the sound. Quite like the jump between a 9×9 and a 16×16 Rubik’s Cube. The multi-layered nature of the album may result in the listener having to take a second or third listen, but once it gets you that’s when Embers To Empires strikes gold and really hits home.
Rating: 4/5