Emperor X - "Island Long Dirt Dealership"

On last year's Central Hug/Friendarmy/Fractaldunes, Chad Matheny's one-man band Emperor X delivered some of the catchiest and refreshing indie pop of the year. Popmatters said, "Matheny has the potential to be the next indie superstar, possessing the effortless songwriting chops of a Stephen Malkmus or Elliot Smith as well as the kind of compellingly holistic musical presence that could place him among the vanguard of modern pop composers, next to folks like the Flaming Lips. … Emperor X is well on his way to becoming the Next Big Thing in the world of indie rock. Central Hug . . . is the best indie rock record of the year so far, and stands a good chance of being one of the best records, period, when all is said and done." I couldn't really say it much better than that, so I won't try to. Chad came back releasing the Dirt Dealership EP this past february which, to my knowledge, is going tragically overlooked (I heard it for the first time today). If most of you are like me, you've probably been missing out on this for way too long. Here's a track from the Dirt Dealership EP, "Island Long Dirt Dealership."

[MP3]: Emperor X :: Island Long Dirt Dealership
Maheny hasn't really changed the formula too much on this new EP, but really, I think it's for the better, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In Emperor X's case however, it's more like, if it's awesome, just keep doing it. This song runs through the verses with some lo-fi acoustic guitar, but then, oh then, it hits an amazingly catchy chorus full of double tracked harmonies and handclaps. It's bliss.

Bonus [MP3]: Emperor X :: Shut Shut Up
This comes from last year's Central Hug/Friendarmy/Fractaldunes and is not only the first Emperor X song I heard, but it's also still my favorite.

[BUY]: Dirt Dealership EP by Emperor X from Discos! Mariscos! for $4 ppd!

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