"We slide into dystopia / Clawing at the tilting glass / Our friends are going under / Big nasty palpitations..."
Let me drop all 'music writer pretense' and just say right away that "Big Nasty Palpitations" by Manchester, UK's The Empty Page is simply badass. I absolutely love a full bodied, textured bass line and you feel that in spades intertwined with tight drums and perfectly balanced guitar lines. Stealthily, a percussive synth padding slaps and phases onto the bass and drums like glue. When Kel's vox drops in with self aware, self assured artistry, there is the sense her performance is pushed, not held back and, to me, it feels like you can feel the dialog in her head about the import, meaning of the track connecting to her emotions. This is not an aloof vocal performance and I appreciate that.
About the track. that is hinged on the angst about the ever present possibility of nuclear war, Kel expounds:
"Everyone I know has paper-thin mental health at the moment. The world is run by terrifying people who have little regard for us powerless humans who are just trying to get on with our lives. I woke up one too many times with the fear and reached for a pen at 3am to get those grim feelings out of my system. We've always been a socially aware band, and the new album definitely has a glittery, dystopian thread running through it that I think is very apparent on this track."
Make no mistake about it. The world seems really fucked up at this time. You have Putin doing his Hitler thing and there are real fears that the Ukraine might be his Poland. Every country is struggling economically. In America, the right wing and Christian Nationalists are holding hands and peering into our bedrooms. Women seeking abortions are having to travel to states that still allow it. We have small minds waging wars on the LGBTQ+ communities and our history of racism and severe mistreatment of indigenous people is being erased from our school system. A lot to contend with.
We are distracted by the opiates of the masses, the Tik Tok hypnotic effect. That being said social media has also been used to fight fascism. Remember too that art is not only an escape valve but also pushes buttons that inspire all kinds of people to fight the good fight and hold onto our humanity.
Off my soap box now. I really dig the sound here and any band's foray into social commentary, into politico post punk I totally appreciate. "Big Nasty Palpitations" is a great song on many levels.
The blood on their hands is congealing
And layering
Everyone’s numb
Big red button
Under his thumb
We slide into dystopia
Clawing at the tilting glass
Our friends are going under
Big nasty palpitations"
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://twitter.com/thmptypg
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1qWwVAQahrqNPgG8pEkcwM
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvo9IV6VKi6HRdzJRXwawA
https://theemptypage.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thmptypg/
https://www.tiktok.com/@thmptypg
Manchester alt-punk band The Empty Page have been steadily blossoming since recording their early demos in a warehouse in Ancoats, Manchester. Those demos were heard by Gggarth Richardson (RATM, Biffy Clyro, Melvins), which led to their debut album, Unfolding being recorded with him in Vancouver, Canada.
The band released 7-inch single When The Cloud Explodes in Feb 2019. Airplay (Steve Lamacq/Gideon Coe BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing, Radio 1) and glowing reviews (Louder Than War, Overblown, God Is In The TV...) followed. The band remained on Spotify's 'The Punk List' playlist (alongside Fontaines DC, Idles, Big Joanie, Fat White Family, Idles, Squid et al) for months.
Follow-up single He's Very Good At Swimming took a darker and more challenging route, thus support this time came from different camps, with 6 Music/BBC Introducing's Tom Robinson playing it twice in one weekend and calling it "immensely powerful". Third single of 2019 You're Tame followed suit with yet more positive blog coverage and who doesn't like a video full of kittens?
Dry Ice is out on 18 November 2022 ahead of the band's second album (as yet untitled) due in spring 2023.
What they say:
“Capable of cathartic fury ala Meredith Graves, Kel can also jam a touch of melody in there that tempers the raucous energy with something ever so infectious. It’s a rare and raw talent. Colour us impressed.” Overblown Zine
"A band that have more passion than a full Top 30 chart worth of blandishments" mp3hugger
”An excellent tune” Gideon Coe - BBC 6 Music
“Brash and uncompromising alt-punk for the greyest of skies and the toughest of times..." God Is In The TV
"a snarling, punchy alt-rock song... nods to Veruca Salt and Fugazi" A Model Of Control
“Elusively erratic and all the way confident, resonant of both the charismatic dynamism of Life Without Buildings and the poignant fervency of Fugazi” Destroy/Exist
“I love ’em. Independent. Personal-political without being dull and worthy. Punk, but in a progressive and forward-thinking way. An undeniable grunge-era Pixies influence.” Louder Than War
“a massive single that encapsulates everything that is needed in a modern, angsty punk track” Yack Magazine
“An epic-length howl of dismay and rage” Tom Robinson BBC 6 Music
“…another prime example of The Empty Page's sharpness, and their gutsy, yet, cultivated artistry" DESTROY/EXIST
"...the most important single they’ve recorded to date." Corvid Culture
"This band have been lighting up our radar for several years now, and their new releases show them to be ripe for explosion into the mainstream – they are undoubtedly ones to watch." LOUD WOMEN
“I’m gonna say it. The word. Important. We are lucky artists like this exist.” RPM online
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