Empathy Test are childhood friends Isaac Howlett (vocals) and Adam Relf (production) joined live by Christina Lopez (drums) and Jacob Ferguson Lobo (keyboards).
If you have been lucky enough to catch them supporting the likes of VNV Nation, Mesh, Aesthetic Perfection, or sharing stages with everyone from Bombay Bicycle Club to The Japanese House, or performing at Germany’s Wave-Gotik-Treffen Festival, or even headlining Riba Rocks Festival in Spain, then you know how special they are.
But don’t just take our word for it:
“Lots of people have been messaging me saying, play Empathy Test! We love Empathy Test! Now I know why…”
– DJ Rusty Egan (ex-Rich Kids, Visage etc.)
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Isaac Howlett, whose vocals I’ve already professed my undying love for, brings something chilling and new to the table that’s utterly lacking when you consider the bands these two are often compared to, including Chvrches, Phantogram, Broods or London Grammar.”
– IX Daily
“[Empathy Test’s Throwing Stones is] my Record of the Week. Loving this more and more with every listen.”
– Abbie McCarthy, BBC Introducing
“Taking inspiration from CHVRCHES, Purity Ring and Depeche Mode, the London duo’s Throwing Stones EP is a must for any fan of synth-pop that all at once sounds nostalgic, contemporary and utterly futuristic.”
– BitCandy
“A set of songs lovers of 80s synth pop will be drooling over the minute the first verse has been heard. More Visage than Mode, more pop than dance and not a smudge of eyeliner in sight.”
– Louder Than War
“Like M83, Purity Ring and CHVRCHES, artists Isaac Howlett and Adam Relf draw from pop and cinematic scores in equal measure and come up with a big dramatic sound that swoons ecstatically between the nostalgic and immediate.”
– KCRW
“London duo Empathy Test deliver tear-streaked New Wave featuring twinkling synth pads and drum machine hits so wet (from the crying, presumably) that they’d throw Phil Collins into a jealous rage.”
– Idolator
“Gorgeous, sumptuous future pop which arrives dripping in synthesised sounds, there are nods towards Depeche Mode here alongside 21st century producers such as Purity Ring.”
– Clash
Buy your festival tickets soon!
“Singer Isaac Howlett and producer Adam Relf have turned their childhood friendship into a delivery of multiple EPs that feature emotional electronic music with a depth in its measure.”
– Earmilk
“Mixing their trademark analogue synths with lashings of 80s influence, ‘Vampire Town’ sees Empathy Test employ their pop songwriting sensibilities on a huge, sweeping chorus. The haunting, repeated promise that “we will always be friends” twines through the song like an echo of a classic film soundtrack. It’s a song that wouldn’t sound out of places snaking into the soundtrack of Netflix series Stranger Things’ second season.”
– The Line of Best Fit
“London’s Empathy Test are one of those bands that you immediately fall in love with while wondering where they’ve been all your life.”
– The Daily Listening