PRESS CONTACT
Eric, Cougar Label

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PHOTOS
PHOTO 01: LARGE // SMALL LARGE BW // SMALL BW
PHOTO 02: LARGE // SMALL

MUSIC
From Light Rides The Super Major
VOLCANO

From the Seaside EP
STARS AT NOON // CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY

REVIEWS:
Kind of like Indie sensations The National — who were born and bred in Cincinnati but high-tailed to New York to get their band going — UP THE EMPIRE has its roots in Louisville but now calls Brooklyn home. Originally known as Kilowatthours, the band signed with the Temporary Residence label and released a few albums of intriguing, ambient Art Pop. As the band moved in a more rockin’ direction, they switched monikers and recorded a mesmerizing four-song EP, Seaside, that’s received attention from taste-making radio outlets like woxy.com and KEXP in Seattle. There’s still an ethereal glaze to Up the Empire’s sound, especially in the glistening vocals, but now it’s on a bed of sometimes crunching, often hypnotic guitars, lithe keys, spacious-to-pounding drums and some fantastically snaking bass lines. The combination has a lysergic sway, and the mix of airy, spellbinding melodies and crafty Post Punk pulsations is irresistible on record.
- Cincinnati CityBeat

Formerly known as Kilowatthours this four-piece has stepped it up a notch and this time pulled out some high quality tunes. At times they take a shoegaze direction, but only in a dark and euphoric kind of way, bringing to mind fellow NYCer’s Calla. Check out song #2 on the EP as it will hit you will mesmerizing guitars right away.
- Crashinin.com

Up the Empire built off of Emma La Reina’s energy with driving hooks drenched in layers of distortion and feedback giving the room an energy that didn’t escape until the last piece of equipment left on their van. - Justin, CrackersUnited.com

…wraps very catchy tunes in a crispy shell of distortion, feedback, and cranked-up, insistent bass.
- Nick Scalia, Play Magazine

They’re too melodic to be classified as just another NYC art-noise rock band and their too noisy to be given the power pop label.
- I Rock Cleveland Blog

…the NYC quartet formerly known as Kilowatthours continues dishing out seismic bass overdrive and mathy high-string guitar licks as Up The Empire.
- John Vettese, Philadelphia City Paper

The bass stands out, lending throbbing back beats and prodding along like a lead instrument. Power chords wrap themselves all over muted drum fills and emo crescendos, all the while just keeping time until the next hard-charging progrock flourish.
- Patrick Ferrucci, CT Central

Up The Empire plays some snappy, new-wave-y prog rock.
- Boston Weekly Dig

Up the Empire sounds like a band reaping the benefits offamiliarity, evolving into the fully realized noise-pop band at which “The Bright Side” so cautiously hinted. - Christopher Fritz, Delaware Online

Blending a wall of noise with indie dance playfulness, Up The Empire casts venomous lightning bolts across the mean streets of Allston Rock City.
- Michael Marrota, The Pill

…equally forceful and rich, drawing as much on the music scene of today as the shoegazer bands of the early 90s.
- Tobias Carroll, AMP Magazine

Who isn’t a sucker for that anthemic pop-rock sound? Echoing bands like Superchunk and Sonic Youth (think “Teenage Riot”), Up the Empire gives marching orders in the form of driving hooks that never fail to raise spirits. Formerly Kilowatthours, the newer outfit trades its previous incarnation in favor of a more collaborative sound; vocals define the melody but tend to take a backseat to the instrumental work. The five members conjure a huge (as opposed to just loud) sound. And just when you think their music can’t possibly get any more layered, multi-instrumentalist Doug Keith straps on the band?s third guitar and ups the ante exponentially. - Jimmy Legs

RECENT UP THE EMPIRE INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES // I Rock Cleveland Blog // Play Magazine // New Haven - CT Central // Delaware Online // The Pill // The Deli - Mp3 of the Week! // Boston Weekly Dig // Philadelphia Citypaper // Emoragei (French) // The Onion / Pabst Tunes on Tap // Copper Press // Amp Magazine //