Empathy Test’s “Monsters” Highlights Their Haunting Electropop (premiere)

The latest single from London-based four-piece, Empathy Test, is a haunting slice of dark electropop. The first taste of their forthcoming album, “Monsters” pushes the band‘s sound in previously unexplored directions while showcasing their ability to write lasting alt-pop hooks.

“Monsters” sounds absolutely enormous. Driven by thundering drums and layers of clean, analogue synths, the band somehow sounds both thrillingly expansive and unnervingly claustrophobic. There is a feeling of deep unease that slithers, serpent-like through the track as the lyrics unpick private anxieties incessantly amplified by social media. “When the emptiness arrives / And you’ve nowhere left to hide / When it’s stacking up inside / From the corners of your mind.”

As the sense of paranoia grows and panic sets in, musically and lyrically, the song tries to stuff the darkness as deep into the subconscious as it will go. Ending with a jarring synth burst like the squawk of an alarm signaling the end of a troubling dream, “Monsters” leaves a similar, uneasy impression while still drawing you back again and again.