Albums

Collapse Under The Empire - Find A Place To Be Safe

Craig Broad 12/11/2009

Rating: 4/5

Collapse Under The Empire are a band that came across my attention awhile back when they wanted to release their music for free via my web-label. Combining the beauty of bands like Explosions In The Sky and Sigur Ros with electronic moments, I knew that they were a band that would eventually go on to create something unstoppable in the post-rock circles but I never quite expected to have a lovely packaged album come through my door looking quite as beautiful as the art for 'Find A Place To Be Safe' does.

Like most post-rock artists, the trick to enjoying Collapse Under The Empires album is setting aside the length of the CD, sitting in a darkened room and listening through the best headphones you have available. It is also very much like you'd expect, there isn't a hint of anyone showboating, the notes played are played to improve the song, not to show the listener how amazing the musician is and this style suits any post-rock band alike down to a tea. Unlike alot of their fellow contemporaries though, this band don't let the lack of vocalist get the better of them. At times with other artists you can find yourself looking at the track length and wondering where the song is going and almost wishing the time away. Collapse Under The Empire may have a sense for writing beautiful songs like the best of them but at the same time, they offer enough twists and turns for 'Find A Place To Be Safe' to be inspiring, at least for the first ten or so listens.

Sadly, I can't see this album being anything but ignored, which is a huge shame because it is worthy of anyones attention and in my opinion, if a song or two made it onto an advert, I am sure that people would accept Collapse Under The Empire much like people accepted Sigur Ros. So, this album is one for your genre fan, if you love all post-rock, I really don't think you can go wrong with this album. If you are a nan who enjoys listening to Frank Sinatra then I don't think you should buy this album. If you feel like being open minded, I recommend this, if you buy it and don't like it at all, even I would happily refund you.

Collapse Under The Empire Myspace