Empty Country - Empty Country II

As the front person of the celebrated indie band Cymbals Eat Guitars, guitarist and singer Joseph D’Agostino spent over a decade crafting emotionally vivid, autobiographical lyrics set against soaring, compositionally ambitious rock. After four critically acclaimed LPs that cemented his reputation as a gifted songwriter, D’Agostino chose to part ways with the long-running project and launch a new one: Empty Country.

On 2020’s self-titled debut, his storytelling shifted away from personal narrative toward fiction—populating a bleak and uncanny alternate version of American dystopia with psychopaths, apparitions, and the morally corrupt. The album’s sprawling, sonically adventurous arrangements—featuring contributions from Rachel and Zoë Browne (Field Mouse), Kyle Gilbride (Swearin’), Zena Kay (Angel Olsen), and former CEG drummer Charlotte Anne Dole—ranged from luminous jangle-pop to scorching emo-punk to narcotized Americana.

Though the pandemic cut touring plans short, a seven-piece version of the band performed one packed Brooklyn show in May 2022, supported by Charles Bissell (The Wrens, Field Mouse). Empty Country also backed Bissell on several Meadowlands classics. “It was a wonderful return to live music for all of us,” says D’Agostino. “So many folks reached out and told me how Empty Country offered them comfort during those early months of being stuck inside. I’m glad it connected with people—and that I was able to establish a universe I could continue building.”

While Empty Country II explores the forces that divide Americans, it is also steeped in empathy and love—an exploration of the ties that bind people to family and country, even in the face of darkness.