Emperors Club

The role of direct support was filled by Iowa City’s Emperor’s Club. In the short amount of time since the release of their EP The Castle, the group has opened for such acts as The Smoking Popes and David Bazan, and it’s easy to see why they’ve been able to accomplish such feats so quickly. The band plays a bright, tightly wound brand of indie pop that will fit in perfectly on the big festival side stages any day now. Their tunes are immediately infectious and danceable, but there’s still enough going on underneath the surface to warrant repeat listens. Exuberant harmonies, spiky guitars, and fantastic lovelorn lyrics make these guys a group I will definitely be keeping an eye on. - The Milk Carton

Regular visitors to The Metaphorical Boat will be aware that I am awaiting the inevitable mid-to-late 90s music resurgence with open arms. That is the reason why I was excited to hear about Iowa based group Emperors Club, and their fantastic track "Our Time."

On the surface, "Our Time" seems to be chanelling a more American set of 90s influences, with Stroke 9 being the closest comparison. However, once the strings (or faux-strings, I can't really tell) come in, you realise that this is in fact the gritter, indier twin of McAlmont & Butler's classic "Yes."

"Our Time" is taken from Emperor Club's self-titled EP, which will be released this Autumn. - The Metaphorical Boat

I’ve been meaning to offer up props to this new Iowa City crew, Emperors Club, for a couple weeks now. But it seems to be as good a time as any.
As seniors around the country get back into the groove after spring break or lower their head to eek out the last few days before that respite, graduation is ever-present on the horizon. And a good many students who are wrapping up their undergrad careers may do as the first track from Emperors Club suggests, and make their ways to the hipster’s mecca.
“All The Good Ones Go To Brooklyn,” filled with hints of The Decemberists and other country-fried indie-rockers, is a remorseful farewell to friends. Friends who made a small place like Iowa City feel exciting, who then decided to become small fish in a gigantic pond because they “needed something new.”
The song’s strongest selling point, beyond it’s impeccable construction, are the blissful harmonies. Even with all the baroque pop and ornate compositions out there, the cascading, vocal interplay that comes at the song’s end still stand out as heartbreakingly beautiful. But that aforementioned song construction makes the vocals shine all that much more, no one instrument does too much. Each instrument, beat, strum, pluck, serves the overarching piece without feeling too rudimentary or hackneyed. Like hitting a Mariano Rivera cutter, writing a tight pop ballad is a feat, my friends.

However, I’m not sure, since I ventured off to Chicago, if this all means I’m destined for Brooklyn later or if I never was a “good one,” but I’ll try not to make this too much about me, just peep the beautiful tune below: - Corn-Fed Critic

There’s a first time for everything right? In this case, we’re about to introduce you to a band from Iowa City, Iowa. Emperors Club recently sent us an email with their new single attached and we like it so much, we thought you should know about it.

Have a listen to The Castle in the Soundcloud player below. The song will be included on their upcoming debut EP to be released in the fall of this year. For more on Emperors Club, visit them over on Facebook. - The Indie Machine

Sometimes you have to leave L.A. for greener pastures. Or, of course, for a girl and maybe some cheaper rent. Which is how Colin Ritchie — who until a year ago played for SoCal quintet the Idyllists — has found himself stationed in Iowa City, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa, 20-below-zero temperatures in the dead of winter and, as it turns out, a pretty robust little music scene. Ritchie’s new project is a five-piece with A.M. Havlin, Amanda Crosby, Rachel Sauter and Matthew Wagner called Emperors Club, who are trading in nimble, exuberant indie rock with a smattering of ’90s influences and enough hooks that the music could have come from any decade. The band’s debut EP “The Castle” is just out, and in the lament “Brooklyn” he sings “All the good ones / are going to Brooklyn.” Which we all know isn’t necessarily true. - Buzz Bands