Albums That Shaped My Life: Walking On A Dream, Empire of the Sun

I had a dream the other night I was looking for the minutes of a meeting. Was this my sub conscious trying to tell me I was getting boring? At times like these it's time to delve into the dream-like world of Empire of the Sun, thick with massive soundscapes, big beats and surreal imagery.

Walking on Dream came out at a time when I was well and truely sick of the British music scene. Glastonbury 2008 had just been and gone and was hugely disappointing. This wasn't anything to do with the whole Jay-Z saga - it was, I felt, because the music scene was in a lull. Then Empire of the Sun came along and restored my faith. It was what my ear-holes needed.

The critics accused them of being a bit too 'silly' and 'unpredicatble', but when it was impossible to distinguish between one indie guitar band and the next, I found this really refreshing. I liked the fact they were willing to go out on a limb and mix it up. From the hip shaking Swordfish Hotkiss Night, to the Julie Cruise-esque Country.

In Australia they have enjoyed a huge amount of success, including top ten hits and featuring twice in Triple J's Hottest 100. In the UK they were marked as 'ones to watch' by the BBC in early 2009, but they have failed to take off. This may be due to not having toured yet over here. Aussie friends tell me this is because they've been off doing different projects. However they seem to have some UK festivals scheduled in this year, including Glastonbury. Maybe this will give them the boost in the UK that they so richly deserve.