ANTI-SOCIAL CLUB, “Empty”

Washington DC’s Anti-Social Club find balance between pulsing synths and human warmth on upbeat goth rocker “Empty”. Normal sonic touchstones like New Order don’t cover the whole picture here, as Anti-Social Club explore a vulnerability beyond the cool detachment that synth rock provides. In the end, this human touch opens the darker imagery up into a kind of rebirth. Under a wash of keyboards and tightly programmed beats, sights and sounds disappear as heart and soul slow down, until the song explodes into a kaleidoscopic psych rock refrain: “Today is the first day of the rests of my life.”