Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun
 they were fascinating, even at a glance: Wearing costumes that evoked community-theater Flash Gordon, or perhaps the leaping wing-people from the NES version of Contra, they made cheery, brightly pumping synth music that suggested similar pop-culture carbon dating. "Walking on a Dream", their big hit, was so beguiling that Jay-Z flew them in from Perth to record for The Blueprint 3-- the most unlikely, out-of-context guest spot on a Jay-Z album since Lenny Kravitz on The Blueprint 2. Empire's Walking on a Dream was pop made by people fully intending to be famous, but part of its appeal was how endearingly homemade it felt. The big anthems were set off by odd grace notes like the ambient Eno-like "The World", the dark "Swordfish Hotkiss Night", or the George Michael/Prince mindmeld "Breakdown". EOTS were theatrical weirdos, for sure, but it seemed conceivable you might be able to walk up to them at a party and ask them, "What's with the hat?"