Empire Springs Releases "Drawing Lines" Tomorrow; New LP out 4/29
Above: “Drawing Lines” single artwork; credit: Elijah Zakharov
EMPIRE SPRINGS
—PROGRESSIVE ROCK QUARTET—
SET TO RELEASE
“DRAWING LINES”
TOMORROW, MARCH 25
NEW SINGLE FROM THE BAND’S
11-TRACK CONCEPT ALBUM
THE LUMINESCENCE
OUT APRIL 29
NASHVILLE, TN (March 24, 2022) — Out tomorrow, Birmingham, AL-based progressive rock band — Empire Springs — will release the lead single, “Drawing Lines,” from their 11-track concept album The Luminescence (out Friday, April 29). The new single embodies the album's greatest techniques of sundry influences into a dazzlingly sophisticated, harmonious, and demanding piece of work.
Pre-order/Pre-Save “Drawing Lines” here.
PROG Magazine, the trusted source on all things progressive music, unveiled the band’s single “Broken Glass” earlier this year and raved that the tune “channels the cyclical nature of Pink Floyd’s 1979 opus, The Wall.”
Composed of bassist/vocalist Brett Bellomy, guitarist Michael Naro, keyboardist Chadwick McDowell, and drummer Ethan Standard, the group began as “a studio project between college friends” (according to Bellomy). Expectedly, a few of them had played together in other ensembles, and once Bellomy started truly focusing on his songwriting, they decided to unite for Empire Springs (named after “an exit sign in Empire Country for Blount Springs”).
Naturally, they spent the next few years honing their creative and performative skills, which required “practicing a lot and playing local shows” to cultivate their sound and “learn respective roles in the band.” Fortunately, those countless hours of hard work ultimately yielded The Luminescence — a toweringly ambitious and representative LP — that instantly signifies Empire Springs, an immensely exciting, determined, and skillful genre newcomer.
“The album is primarily about self-reflection and discovery, with the lyrics exploring topics like trust, obligation, abandonment, resolving trauma, the deconstruction of relationships, and finding oneself in a life-changing ethical dilemma,” Bellomy explains. Because of their aforementioned inspirations – and because they’re self-professed “music nerds” – the group ensures that The Luminescence doesn’t reveal all of its secrets in one straightforward playthrough. Rather, its two suites – separated by the appropriately titled “(Interlude)” – recycle several themes/motifs, rewarding dedicated listeners with plenty of brilliant callbacks to tie everything together.
Above: Empire Springs; credit: Hollie Owens
As for how it was written and produced, Bellomy usually sent Naro “demos that had the structures and vibes of the tracks already worked out” and from there, Naro “helps the songs come to life” by adding guitar riffs, chord voices, and the like before the duo invited McDowell and Standard to “refine their respective parts.” Surprisingly – but deservingly – Empire Springs were able to get contortionist keyboardist Eric Guenther and producer John Douglass to help oversee certain aspects of The Luminescence’s final stages. “They both elevated the material into what it is today, and we always looked forward to going to John’s studio,” Bellomy rejoices.
Although progressive music itself wasn’t especially popular in their town, the guys were nonetheless surrounded by highly determined and creative musicians. That sense of support and community, coupled with their collective love of artists such as Led Zeppelin, The Dear Hunter, Rush, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Tool, Coheed and Cambria, Between the Buried and Me, The Contortionist, and Umphrey’s McGee, fueled the fire that ignites everything Empire Springs does.
The Luminescence track listing:
“Chasing Light”
“Transit”
“Neptune”
“Galatia”
“This Place”
“(Interlude)”
“The Luminescence”
“Khan”
“Drawing Lines”
“Apostasy”
“Protector”
Above: ‘The Luminescence’ album artwork; credit: Elijah Zakharov
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