Monday March 4, 2024
On the reissue of This City’s Electric, we witness Melbourne’s Edit the Empire not merely revisiting their origins but actively sculpting a new musical trajectory.
This piece, resurrected from the band’s nascent stages, deftly avoids the snares of nostalgia, choosing instead a path of resonant self-examination and artistic maturation. In this endeavour, Edit the Empire achieves a rare equilibrium: a fusion of raw, unbridled energy with a finesse that elevates indie pop beyond its conventional boundaries.
Their sound, simultaneously primal and impeccably refined, strikes a chord that resonates deep within the soul of contemporary music. Frontman Patrick Clark presents himself as a thoughtful lyricist, his words resonating with authenticity—a blend of introspection skilfully intertwined with the band’s powerful, overdriven guitar work and memorable choruses.
This City’s Electrictranscends its status as a mere single; it is the embodiment of Edit the Empire’s metamorphosis, a transition from the underground’s raw pulse to artisans of a complex and richly varied musical lexicon. Reflecting upon their odyssey, the significance of their 2017 self-titled EP looms large—a raw, unpolished gem that foreshadowed the sophistication to come. The band’s 2019 collaborations with Andrew ‘Idge’ Hehir and Simon Pearlman were less a departure and more a deepening, a honing of their aural identity, as exemplified in the singles Ray of Light and the inaugural This City’s Electric, both rendered with meticulous care by Aaron Dobos.
Faced with the isolating challenges of global lockdowns, Edit the Empire opted for creation over retreat. Their live studio sessions, disseminated across the digital landscape, stood as a defiant affirmation of their resilience and unwavering dedication to their art and their audience. As we venture into 2024, with Edit the Empire poised on the cusp of a record deal, This City’s Electric reemerges not as just an old track but as a living testament to their relentless pursuit of musical evolution.
Echoing the band’s own ethos, ‘We hope to create music that is really catchy that people will love and will help uplift people in dark times as well as experiment with new sounds and genres.’
