CITY OF SOUND Debut Their New ‘Silent Empire II’ EP with a Stream and Track-by-Track Breakdown [Exclusive]

Welcome back again to the City of Sound! We say welcome back because we have already gotten you well-acquainted with this indie alternative rock group with our premiere of their “Silent Empire” single back in March, among other articles. Well, today we welcome you back because we are pleased to premiere the group’s entire, brand new EP Silent Empire II, along with an exclusive track-by-track rundown of the album courtesy lead singer and pianist Jordan Wright.

Wright elaborated on the theme of Silent Empire II, explaining, “The second installment of City of Sound’s debut album Silent Empire continues the journey of reflection. Part two take us through the darkest moments one endures as they attempt to become something greater, the moments we come face to face with our anger, tribalism, insecurities, and fears.”

Listen to the full, uninterrupted premiere of Silent Empire II right now:

City of Sound decided on a less than common method of releasing a full album, splitting it into three parts with Silent Empire II obviously being the mid-section. The EP is full of grandiose dynamics that continues the story that was introduced in the first part, with the listener getting to know more of the character Empire, one that was inspired by Wright’s own personal experiences. While part one dives into the deconstruction of who we are and the acceptance of the insecurities that we have created for ourselves, the second part looks at the reconstruction of who we truly are.

Part three will complete the journey and examine further what we do after we have experienced this process. It’s an interesting and original story told through music that’s uncommon in today’s “collection of songs” type releases that merely present to the listener a bunch of unrelated songs in subject matter. We could go on and on trying to explain to you the different dynamics contained in Silent Empire II, but someone more qualified for that may be singer Jordan Wright. In the following track-by-track, Wright presents some of the more subtle and underlying themes contained on the EP which contains some very dense and interesting themes that would be a learning experience to anyone searching for something more than just a three-and-a-half minute radio song.

Watch the music video for “Odyssey” from part one of Silent Empire:

01. “Lights in the Vault”
– The introduction to part II, a haunting yet hopeful instrumental to bring the listener into the theme of reflection that carries throughout the album. It’s title was taken from the moment God places the stars in the sky to mark sacred moments in the Hebrew Torah.

02. “Silent Empire”
– The title track of the album, the concept is focused around the central character “Empire” and her unwillingness to admit to her insecurities, fears, and how she sees other people. Ending with her finally stepping into the darkest moments of reflection. “There’s no light where the silence grows.”

03. “Wasteland”
– We continue the journey into the darkest moments of reflection, following “Empire” as she walks through a world she created and the destruction that it has brought upon her and her realization that she has the will to continue forward. A song influenced by a suicide, the songs simple-purpose is to help someone hold on.

04. “Coat of Arms”
– The moment someone takes themselves back (and those around them) after they see themselves without any masks or identities for the first time. This is the moment one takes themselves back after such brutal reflection and change. The recognition of the hope that has been created by the process.

05. “God’s Acre”
– The overall broad-stroke of part II, it encompasses every song into its narrative. God’s Acre is an actual forgotten cemetery that I used to visit with my dad in Illinois, hence the opening scene of “Empire” looking down at her tombstone, and destroying it in order to become something greater; awakening what has been dead inside her whole life.

The artwork that accompanies Silent Empire II: