Empty Heaven began in San Antonio, TX during the first leg of the latest worldwide pandemic. The project spearheaded by Chicago native Anthony Sanders seemed to be a musical reaction to the times, a theme explored heavily on his debut album Getting The Blues in 2021. Sanders adopted the DIY mindset because he had to. Everything about that album and the 2024 follow-up Laughing was done almost entirely independently, with very few outside collaborators only on aspects of the recording and manufacturing of physical media. No labels, no expensive recording studios, and most importantly: no barriers. While Getting The Blues was lo-fi and purposefully bare-bones, what Sanders accomplished on Laughing is the product of almost three years of careful composition, song by song, instrument by instrument. The textures on the album’s lead singles, ‘End Times’ and ‘Hauntology,’ could be mistaken for a ten-piece band performance in a concert hall built for thousands. Before Sanders moved back to Chicago from San Antonio, he commissioned an Empty Heaven band for exactly two shows, stated to be the first and last live performances by the full band. The project was built to self-destruct and has left a mark on underground indie rock that stands out amongst any of the decade’s contemporaries.
