Review Summary: Fixing the problems with predecessor Zion, Empires is a fresh and satisfying addition to modern worship music.
Given Hillsong United’s monumental influence in the praise/worship genre, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the group completely reinvented the sound of contemporary worship with 2013's Zion. Although I miss the crunchy, post-punk sound of the group’s mid-2000s albums, there’s no doubt that United had thoroughly explored this sound and was definitely ready to try something new.
As I explained in my Zion review, the problem wasn’t the change in musical style, which was a great choice; it was that the songs were, with two exceptions, uninteresting. I’m glad to say that with Empires, Hillsong United has again found solid footing and delivered the great set of songs that Zion was lacking.
The musical style of Empires is similar to its predecessor, channeling slick indie pop sounds that are predominantly driven by synths and clean electric guitars. But because the band has been working in this style for a few years now, they sound much more comfortable here, allowing them to focus on songwriting and deliver a much better set of songs.
“Here Now (Madness)” is seven and a half minutes long but deftly avoids the problems associated with drawn-out worship songs, which are typically characterized by tedious repetition. The track has a pleasing development over its runtime and avoids predictable arena bombast in favor of a more subdued (and melodic) climax. What’s immediately apparent is how much Hillsong United has grown in their ability to write strong lyrics: ironically, most of these songs are so lyrically intricate that they’re unlikely to find as much adoption in church worship as earlier songs, simply because they’re much more challenging to memorize and sing than earlier hits (and don’t lend themselves to tedious improv sessions - excuse me, “spontaneous worship” - that define the music of United’s archrivals, Bethel and Jesus Culture.)
“Say The Word” is an early standout, led by Taya Smith, who’s become United’s main vocalist over the past few years (and is, of course, best known for singing “Oceans.”) Driven by clean guitars and Taya’s melodic vocals, it’s the kind of track Zion was sorely missing and proof that indie-pop Hillsong is at least as good as Bloc Party The Worship Band. Aside from the prominent synths, “Heart Like Heaven” sounds similar to United’s earlier output, but its fresh instrumentation and great melodies make up for the fact that it’s a bit too long. Lead single “Touch The Sky” is obviously gunning for the position of this album’s mega-hit, akin to “Oceans.” It’s an incredibly slick and catchy pop song, and quite well-written on top of that, but it’s a little too vague and left-of-center to most worship’s lyrical content to rival Zion’s breakthrough hit.
The album’s second act changes things up from the Zion-esque stylings of the first four songs. “Street Called Mercy” is a beautiful track led by clean electric guitars with a great refrain in its second half. The acoustic “When I Lost My Heart To You” is downright uninteresting compared to the songs that preceded it but is quickly redeemed by the upbeat “Even When It Hurts (Praise Song)”, which isn’t just another great Taya-led track, but goes to lyrical places of hurt and disappointment that contemporary worship rarely treads. “Prince of Peace” is not only the darkest song on the album, it’s also a serious contender for its best: an uneasy, acoustic-driven song, “Prince” deals with the fear and anxiety that any Christian inevitably faces, which the band has never dared to approach before. It’s a much more compelling and thought-provoking answer to questions of fear, temptation, and suffering than the “don’t worry, be happy” approach that tends to characterize a Hillsong-eque megachurch’s response to difficult questions.
The last section of the album is the only spot where Empires loses a bit of steam. The title track gets off to a great start but is the first lengthy track on the album that doesn’t really justify or do much with its long runtime, and its lyrics aren't as interedting as other songs. “Rule” is a much-needed upbeat song, but doesn’t quite deliver beyond injecting some energy into the album’s latter half. But while “Closer Than You Know” is an overly-lengthy and unmemorable close to the album, “Captain” has some great songwriting and vocals, despite being less musically interesting than earlier tracks.
Empires isn’t perfect but it’s a much better album than its predecessor and offers up some memorable tunes that are much more creative and engaging than what the likes of Bethel have been putting out over the past few years. As contemporary worship increasingly polarizes into laboriously drawn-out, folksy stylings and insufferable EDM-inspired tunes (Young & Free, I’m looking at you), Empires suggests a third option with a musical style and solid songwriting that revitalized a long-running band and proved United has plenty of creative ability left..
