Empires On Fire- BANNERS Review

Image result for empires on fire bannersWow, I found yet another great pop rock band. And this one is pretty good- a stadium pop rock band in the vein of Coldplay and Bastille, and clearly but not directly descended from U2. And now, we have the best piece of music they've ever made yet- Empires On Fire.


The whole thing is excellent, from the opening strums of Someone To You to the closing guitar solo of Holy Ground. Someone to You starts off the EP with an anthemic universal message reminiscent of the best U2 and Coldplay, but with a unique modern pop rock spin. It's positively chock full of major chords, universal messages, and potential- it will definitely be a hit. It showcases BANNERS at its best, expertly crafted and ready for playing anywhere. Empires On Fire is a bit more subdued but still expertly crafted vaguely political song that would be excellent live, especially for its liberal use of guitar. Firefly is close to some of Coldplay's newer but more sedate songs(like Us Against The World) but is also still anthemic in its transition between the keyboard studded verses and rising guitar driven choruses. Into The Storm starts with a deceptively dark guitar, call and responses, and has a always-faithful mood like 2016's BANNERS EP. Holy Ground is a nice B-side, nice and understated and beautiful, ended by a great guitar solo.

I see a gigantic potential in this band. Their masterful songwriting and musical craftsmanship should definitely get them lots of airplay(probably mainly in the UK), and sell out a few small arenas. They are on the very large Island label, and I don't see why they're not being promoted to the full extent they deserve to get where they need to be. Hopefully they'll come out with an even better full length album soon, so Island will give them the promotion to reach the heights they deserve.

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