Empath is an American

noise punk Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extreme ...

band from Philadelphia. The current lineup is Catherine Elicson (guitar/vocals), Jem Shanahan (synthesiser), Randall Coon (synthesiser), and Garrett Koloski (drums). They have released one album and several EPs, and are currently signed to Fat Possum Records.

History

Empath was formed by Catherine Elicson, Jem Shanahan and Garrett Koloski in 2015 whilst the three were roommates in Philadelphia. Elicson had recently moved from

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, where she had been in the bands Goners and Katherine. Koloski was then the drummer in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

band Perfect Pussy. The trio recorded ''Crystal Reality Volumes 1 & 2''. They began recording what would become ''Liberating Guilt and Fear'' in 2016 with Koloski’s former bandmate, Shaun Sutkus. After Coon joined in 2017, he recorded his parts that autumn. It was mastered by Greg Saunier of

Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...

and eventually released by Get Better Records in 2018. That same year they released a 7" titled ''Environments'', named in tribute to

Irv Teibel Irving Solomon "Irv" Teibel (October 9, 1938 – October 28, 2010) was an American field recordist, graphic designer, and photographer. His company, Syntonic Research, Inc., is best known for its influential '' environments'' psychoacoustic reco ...

’s 1970s

album series An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

of the same name. In 2018 the band released their debut LP ''Active Listening: Night on Earth'', once again through Get Better Records. The positive reception led to their signing to Fat Possum Records, who immediately reissued the record - along with a vinyl pressing of ''Liberating Guilt and Fear'' for the first time. In late 2021 Empath announced their second album, entitled ''Visitor'', would be released on 11th February 2022.

Discography

Albums

*''Active Listening: Night on Earth'' – Get Better Records, 12" LP, MP3 (2019) / Fat Possum Records, 12" LP, MP3 (2019) *''Visitor'' – Fat Possum Records, 12" LP, MP3 (2022)

Extended plays

*''Crystal Reality Vol. 1'' – Self released, Cassette, MP3 (2016) *''Crystal Reality Vol. 2'' – Self released, Cassette, MP3 (2016) *''Liberating Guilt and Fear'' – Get Better Records, Cassette, MP3 (2018) *''Environments'' – Get Better Records, 7" single, MP3 (2018)

References

{{Reflist American punk rock groups Punk rock groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia Musical groups established in 2015 2015 establishments in Pennsylvania