Click on a link to jump to a review:
Underpop, March 2000
Jockrock, October 1999
NME, 10th July
Glasgow University Guardian, 20th January 1999
Glasgow University Guardian, 9th December 1998
NME, 13th June 1998
13th Note web site, June 1998
Kerrang!, March 7th 1998
Underpop March 2000
El Hombre Trajeado/ Empire Builder,
13th Note Cafe, Glasgow
"Perhaps this is a lesson learnt about gig protocol. If you
give away liberal shots of tequila at the door you'll end up
with a few 'technical' problems. There are a few problems
with Empire Builder's sound that prove to be an unwanted
distraction, especially when the band themselves are playing
more than adequately. Their newer material is continuing
their abstract take on melody, making the songs from their
'Waters Of The Orient' 7" sound less out of place than they
did in the early days when the songs were more basic. Two or
three of the newer tracks (I don't know titles though) are
fearsomely complex but still manage to retain a delicacy, a
subtle handling that means nothing gets overbearingly loud
and impenetrable, in theory at least. The mix is so bad
tonight that whenever Steven sings (which isn't often) it's
far too loud, and for some reason all the amps are mic'ed,
why? In a place this size you could easily hear the amps
from the back of the room. It was unnecessary and took the
edge off Empire Builder's competent set."
(Andrew
Friendly)
Jockrock
Fanzine October 1999
Urusei Yatsura / EB @
Edinburgh Attic
"Strenuous efforts have been made
to pigeonhole the likes of Empire Builder into various
categories - post-rock, math, stealth, you name it. But
boy oh boy can they ROCK out, thus adding another string
to their bow, so to speak. "Waters of the Orient", the
single reproduced faithfully live tonight, is basically
the post-rock "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - the slow
quiet(ish) bit with half-spoken vocal, building into the
LOUD bit with searing chords. The rest of the set, oddly,
contains songs which broadly fit either category, and as
an old punk at heart, I personally favour the manic
guitar-led assault on the senses that closes the set."
(Stuart McHugh)
NME 10th July 1999
Hirameka Hi-fi / Reynolds / EB @ London Highbury,
Upstairs at the Garage
"Come on, try young:
that's the Gringo Records approach. Plainly, a night such
as this would be unthinkable had it not been for Mogwai's
singular influence on the jazz-under-any-other-name genre
of post-rock. But against all odds, there's a youth
revolution waiting to happen.
And Glasgow's
empire-builder are lighting the touchpaper. Fresh from
recording their debut single in the Chemikal Underground
studios, it's more than possible that they're being weaned
to bolster the stables of Glasgow's Finest.
empire-builder are defiantly highbrow, squeezing
painstaking complexities out of the sparsest three-piece
line up. The difficult 'Trade In Fiction' is riven with
tempo changes, straying into as many blind alleys as open
highways, but 'Waters Of the Orient' is a furious warping
of Slint's 'Good Morning, Captain', and it's here that
empire-builder's maddening complexities become utterly
compelling. It's not always easy to keep up, but
empire-builder understand the thrill of the chase."
(Louis Pattison)
Glasgow
University Guardian, 20th January 1999
16 Band
Night featuring Multiplex Cinema / Macrocosmica / the
Yummy Fur / Ganger / EB @ Nice 'n' Sleazy, Glasgow
"empire-builder are becoming somewhat ubiquitous. They
aim to bring math-rock to the masses and with their brand
of angular yet (for their genre) tuneful material, who
knows, these crazy kids may just do it. They kick off the
whole shebang with a set that bodes well for their debut
single to be unleashed soon."
(Craig Hargrave)
Glasgow
University Guardian, 9th December 1998
Spray Dog
/ Peeps Into Fairyland / EB / Magnetic North Pole @ Nice
'n' Sleazy, Glasgow
"empire-builder, featuring
Eska's Colin Tierney (sic) on drums are an impressively
tight three piece - an attribute needed for their
interesting and involving tempo changes and keen melodies.
Dare I mention that band beginning with an 'S' and ending
in 'lint'? Comparisons aside, empire-builder are one to
watch for their on-stage banter alone: Sepultura, The
Bangles and the state of frontman Steven Ward's pants are
mentioned during this memorable half hour set."
(Jan Zeschky)
NME 13th June
1998
"...so we will go anywhere Mogwai take us.
Which happens to be downstairs at the 13th Note, where
American Hardcore flavour of the hour Unwound are playing.
As support, we witness two local bands. For what is
rumoured to be their third gig, empire-builder have a
classy sounding
Fugazi-walking-along-the-cracks-in-pavement style, while
hernandez have a nice line in shouting, if nothing
else.
These are inevitably the foot soldiers of the
new indie uprising, but they may save us yet."
(Johnny Cigarettes)
(The Old) 13th Note web site - reviews, June 1998
Unwound / Hernandez / EB @ 13th Note Cafe, Glasgow
"But first empire-builder, or 'Colin from Eska's other
band' as it's repeatedly referred to around town. And
indeed it's the Eska frontman's drumming which drives the
band, songs twisting and starting, with sympathetic beats
playing around the impassioned guitars and vocals. OK,
the performance of their off-kilter loud/quiet songs is
still a little rough round the edges, but there's plenty
here to suggest that people may be referring to them by
their proper name."
(Martin Bate)
Kerrang! March 7th
1998
US Maple / EB @ 13th Note Cafe, Glasgow
"A small crowd greets local lads empire-builder. Part
Jawbox, part Jesus Lizard, they employ a bewildering but
coherent array of time changes, yet still infuse them with
healthy doses of melody. Their stage-craft might need
time and touring to develop further, but their songwriting
is already well past the embryonic stage."
(Eddie
Thomas)