Empire of the Sun

Between their deeply immersive sound and otherworldly visual identity, the Australian electro-pop duo Empire of the Sun feel blissfully self-contained. Luke Steele (born in 1979 and raised in Perth) and Nick Littlemore (born in Sydney in 1978) had already found success with The Sleepy Jackson and PNAU, respectively, but their teaming up for 2008’s Walking On a Dream vaulted them to the next level. The title track introduced the project’s flair for cosmic theatre and reeling falsetto, reshuffling just the right nostalgic cues into euphoric dance-floor catnip, while the acoustic-guitar gait of “We Are the People” evoked the folky twang of Steele’s former band. Tapping epic sci-fi cinema and new-age vistas as inspiration for their costumes, makeup and music videos, the duo remain instantly distinctive. Their firm grasp of the grandiose extends through 2013’s Ice On the Dune, with the openly anthemic chorus of “Alive” ideal for music-festival sing-alongs, and the soft-rock dreamscapes of 2016’s Two Vines, which featured cameos from Lindsey Buckingham and Wendy Melvoin. While Littlemore acknowledged difficulties in collaborating on music remotely during the pandemic, Empire of the Sun teased their long-awaited fourth album in 2024 with the catchily resolute “Changes”.