Australia's Luke Steele has always been an interesting fella. As the Sleepy Jackson, the eccentric songwriter has made some brilliant music, notably 2003's full-length debut, Lovers. That album, along with its follow-up, 2006's Personality One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird, were unjustly overlooked, but something tells me Steele will get his just desserts with his new project.
Empire of the Sun is a collaboration with Nick Littlemore of Pnau, another Aussie outfit that we featured back in February. They've already got an album in the bag and their debut single, "Walking On A Dream" finds a nice middle ground between Steele's whimsical psych pop and Littlemore's banging electro house.
Taking a page out of the '80s, just like everyone else, "Walking On A Dream" is a delicious homage to new wave from the video's Adam Ant get-ups and Duran Duran flash to the gorgeous synergy running through the simple combination of a drum machine, lush synths and unfussy guitar strums. It's the pair's mastery of one of the year's finest melodies that's most impressive, finding a hook with their chorus of "We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it/Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it" and some nicely hit falsetto.
Plus, the video was shot in Shanghai, putting to use the city's awe-inspiring retro-futuristic design.
Empire of the Sun "Walking On A Dream"
Empire of the Sun is a collaboration with Nick Littlemore of Pnau, another Aussie outfit that we featured back in February. They've already got an album in the bag and their debut single, "Walking On A Dream" finds a nice middle ground between Steele's whimsical psych pop and Littlemore's banging electro house.
Taking a page out of the '80s, just like everyone else, "Walking On A Dream" is a delicious homage to new wave from the video's Adam Ant get-ups and Duran Duran flash to the gorgeous synergy running through the simple combination of a drum machine, lush synths and unfussy guitar strums. It's the pair's mastery of one of the year's finest melodies that's most impressive, finding a hook with their chorus of "We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it/Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it" and some nicely hit falsetto.
Plus, the video was shot in Shanghai, putting to use the city's awe-inspiring retro-futuristic design.
Empire of the Sun "Walking On A Dream"
