Following the release of their single Cock Of The Fifth Year, which dropped earlier this year, Manchester alt-punks The Empty Page have let loose the second taste from their forthcoming new album Imploding with razor-sharp new single, Life Is A Wave.
The Empty Page
Inspired by a more electronic/dance sound, Life Is A Wave sees The Empty Page veering off in a fresh direction, propelled by a New Order-esque rhythm, the song still swirls with the shimmering guitar and powerful, ethereal vocals that The Empty Page are renowned for.
“A few people I love have passed away over the past few years, often in really unexpected and seemingly unfair circumstances. I wrote Life Is A Wave in response to one of those losses,” explains singer Kel Page. “Its meaning is fairly straightforward, about how life is short, random, full of ups and downs and often ends when you least expect it to. It’s about holding those you love dear but trying to let the waves of life (and grief) flow over you because there is nothing you can do to change things. I played with the imagery of waves, lyrically, thinking about the waves on an ECG as well as the waves in the sea that can lift you aloft and crash you down.”
Filmed in one day and then edited in a single day by Ash Pears, the video for the new single perfectly emotes the song’s mood – check it out below:
It’s been a long time since uncompromising Manchester alt-punks The Empty Page first unfurled their debut album Unfolding back in 2016. It was never their intention to leave it that long, but founding member and original drummer Jim Cattell left the band during the recording process due to ill health, then there was the pandemic, then life stuff got in the way. Some one-off songs and seven-inch single releases kept the fire and desire to play burning, signalling the path to stunning new album ‘Imploding’, due for release on 10th May via the bands’ own Vociferous Records.
Drummer John Simm (who also serves as percussionist for Stockport indie band Blossoms) plays on the record and at current live shows alongside frontwoman Kel Page and guitarist Giz as The Empty Page prepare to enter their exciting next phase.
For Imploding the band worked with producer Morton Kong and for the first time found themselves with the luxury of not having to rush the recording process and took full advantage of the creative space, utilising the studios vintage gear and experimenting with sounds and fresh ideas (“we hit massive bells with hammers, dicked around with walkie-talkies, created elaborate bass feedback set ups,” laughs Kel) and generally pushed themselves and their music further than it has ever gone before.
“People often describe our sound as anxious, urgent, angular,” summarises Kel. “I think it’s all of those things because that’s what the inside of my brain looks like. But I think it’s lush and beautiful at times too. I hope people can hear the whole gamut of emotions in this record. It’s political, personal, passionate and, I hope, important.”
Upcoming live UK tour dates:
MAY
2nd Shakespeare’s, Sheffield
10th The Night Owl, London
16th Yes Basement, Manchester
JUNE
1st The Parish, Huddersfield
6th Right To Roam Festival, Bolton
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