In 2020, former Cymbals Eat Guitars leader Joseph D’Agostino released his self-titled debut as Empty Country. A few weeks ago, he re-emerged with a new track, “Pearl,” and now D’Agostino is ready to announce the second Empty Country album, appropriately called Empty Country II. He recorded it at R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter’s North Carolina studio Fidelitorium with John Agnello, who produced the CEG records Lenses Alien and LOSE.

Today, Empty Country are sharing the expansive, ecstatically anguished single “Erlking.” D’Agostino provides some context:

‘Erlking’ takes its name from ‘Erlkönig’ Goethe’s famous poem depicting the death of a child stalked by a supernatural being. Though I wrote this song on the day of the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, the ’20 kids’ referenced are the Sandy Hook children. In the parallel version of the American dystopia I depict in Empty Country II, Erlkings are ultraterrestrial demons that stalk the innocent and infect the minds of men. These entities’ lives span eons. To them, the whole of our country’s pernicious history is as brief as a Chopin prelude or a TV jingle. One short verse/ 13 Bars/ The force of 50 collapsing stars.

Watch a music video for the track below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Pearl”
02 “Erlking”
03 “David”
04 “Dustine”
05 “Syd”
06 “Bootsie’
07 “FLA”
08 “Lamb”
09 “Cool S”

Empty Country II is out 11/3 via Get Better (US) / Tough Love (EU). Pre-order it