Dhp Presents | Empath

Dhp Presents |

Three years after recording their first lo-fi demos in the basement of their shared home in Philadelphia, Empath remain the sort of close friends who can pile onto each other’s jokes for hours if left to their own devices. They’re also one of the most confounding new rock bands in the country. Their debut full-length, Active Listening: Night on Earth — out now via the queer-centric, Philly-based DIY label Get Better Records — is a clash of howling guitar noise, mystic synthetics, frantic rhythms, and piped-in birdsong. Twenty-five-year-old lead singer and guitarist Catherine Elicson jumps from caterwauls to pop melodies over Koloski’s relentless thrashing and Coon’s thrumming low-end; Emily Shanahan, 27, levitates above the mix. Live and on record, Empath turn harsh sounds into something ferociously meditative. They pummel their way through the listener’s skull to open up space for a third eye. ‘TheFader.com”