The Daily Spin II

Empire Of The Sun | Two Vines

Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.

As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.

Album: Two Vines (2016)

Artist: Empire of the Sun

Link:

Empire of the Sun have made a name for themselves for shimmery electro-pop ballads, such as the infectious ‘Walking on a Dream’, ‘We are the People’, and ‘Alive’, both featured on FIFA soundtracks. They’ve been a backing feature for Mac Miller on ‘The Spins’ (using much of their track ‘Half Mast’), worked with Wiz Khalifa, and have cultivated an immense global following over a decade and a half of making music.

I’ll give them credit - they found a formula that really works for them, all glittery and synthetic the whole way down. It’s difficult to consume in mass quantities, as I think the vast majority of these tracks would work much better folded into wider mixes, but it doesn’t make the sound any less enjoyable. This is the sort of album that you could pass a day or fifty away under the summer sun, full of memories unbidden of coastal drives, late nights on the beach, and fond - if faded - moments gone by.

What’s not to like?

Rating: 8/10

Best Tracks: To Her Door, There’s No Need

Worst Tracks: Ride