Red Empire are a five-piece band from the four corners of Dublin. Their début EP, ‘Strange Philosophy’ was released back on the 18th February in The Village. Before the release of this three-track EP, the Red Empire boys caught up with Goldenplec’s very own Stephen Byrne for an interview. They said the EP “moves from a song about admitting when you’ve failed, to one about not admitting when you’ve failed and finally, to a song about sexuality. An unusual combo but there you go!”
It’s a combination that works brilliantly. Opening track Denial is so catchy, the chorus will be stuck in your head after the first listen. The infectious pop chorus (“Oh I have tried/And though I have tried/I have failed”) wouldn’t sound out of place on commercial radio. It comes as no surprise to discover they have supported Aslan before and are doing so again in the Summer in Tallaght Stadium.
The lead track, Strange Philosophy has a slightly different sound. The verses are carried by a funky bass riff and the vocals are impressively a couple of octaves higher than the previous song! As before the chorus is well written and grabs you. The final track Hotel keeps the mix going, slightly darker sound. In just three songs the band have shown how versatile their sound can be while maintaining a high quality throughout.
The feeling I get when listening to this EP is very similar to how I felt when listening to Royseven’s début album ‘Art of Insincerity’. Despite this being their first release the standard of song is incredibly high. Adding the fact they will be playing in front of the bones of 20,000 people in Tallaght Stadium on 30th June and you can expect Red Empire to be appearing on a lot of radars this summer.