Album Review: Empire Of The Sun - Ice On The Dune

It opens with the twinkling mystique of Lux and finishes roughly 40-minutes later with the drifting wistfulness of Keep A Watch. In between those two tracks, Empire Of The Sun lead you on an expedition to the outer reaches of pop music with their sophomore album, Ice On The Dune. Nick Littlemore and Luke Steele have managed to craft a full-length that carries on the musical adventure the pair started back in 2008 with debut Walking On A Dream, however, it's very much done with its own identity, its own charm.

The originality of the compositions here reflects two far-reaching minds, dipping into the depths of their creative psyche to discover something completely foreign yet ultimately familiar. Balearic guitars morph into throbbing layers of synths on DNA; childlike wonderment abounds on the title track; dream pop magic glides through the speakers during I'll Be Around. But for all these varying shades of emotion, the defining moments of the record come from the straight ahead bangers that are found in the second half of the LP; the minimalistic Old Flavours, the euphoric rejoicing of Celebrate.

On first listens, the tones of each track can slide into each other a little too comfortably. But with every further spin, the singular songs gain a stronger identity, until eventually, it all just clicks, and the Ice On The Dune experience makes complete sense. This is music that has been created in the hope of bringing people closer together, and if you take the heavy levels of glitter with a grain of salt, then you'll be kept warm with this icy winter wonder.