Review Summary: and there was light.
Futurepop is essentially a cocktail. Although many futurepop artists come out with the same taste in the end, VNV Nation’s flavor constantly varies, and it is quite exquisite. In other words, although they are definitely a futurepop band, they are many other things as well. They’re ambient, they’re industrial, they’re often instrumental, etc. In VNV Nation’s entire discography, they have never made an album with only futurepop songs from start to finish. Although this has often helped to create smooth listens and a compelling atmosphere, there is part of me that wishes they would rock out more often. This brings us to their straightforward release,
Empires.
Empires is a futurepop album, no doubt about it. With blindingly bright synthesizers being the main focus, melodies are allowed to shine. Leaving behind any hint of subtlety or progression, they bring the goods, playing them loudly. They also bring them with compelling emotion:
“I will not deny that nothing can defend
from the helplessness that's cutting deep inside,
and I cannot prevent the thought that nothing's real.
Seems I've waited years for this day to end”.
Moody, refreshingly truthful lyrics separate this band from other faceless electronic acts, and create an album one can sink into. Their music is paradoxical in that it features cheery synthesizers coupled with depressive lyrics, but it really is the perfect mix.
Empires was their first danceable album.
Advance and Follow was just loud industrial fuzz, and
Praise The Fallen was impossible to dance to due from its ridiculously depressing nature. The sound heard in
Empires is the sound of VNV Nation waking up for the first time. Songs are therefore buckets of fun in comparison to previous albums, and although they had not mastered the art of choruses yet, it did not matter. Songs were memorable because they were fun, and that was good enough. In fact, it is still good enough, and eleven years later the music still holds up with contemporary futurepop albums. If you consider yourself a futurepop fan, this is an essential album.
