Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) and football, Etc. teamed up for a Midwest emo pairing late last year that served up a then-new but still solid contribution from each band.

"Documenting Thirty Days" is essentially Empire!'s M.O.: super-earnest vocals (to what some might perceive as a fault), weeping guitars and a raw yet lush fill of sound. The production on this song, however, comes off particularly crisp; it doesn't ignore any of the band's fine elements, while the song pulses through a paradoxically lilting though swaying crescendo. It's basically a whinier yet heavier and more melody-emphasizing Mineral. Those are compliments, mind you.

Football, etc. take up the other side with "Fightin' Phoenix." It's like one of the earlier, sadder Rainer Maria cuts, like taking something off Past Worn Searching and turning up the guitars, and distortion too. The dynamics could be pronounced a little more, but it's got a motion about it that's rather arresting.

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Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) - Documenting the Days