Empress Hotel broke my heart. When I saw on their band bio that the New Orleans-based rock band listed Sparks as an influence, I was flabbergasted. Sparks have always been the sort of band that divides people including Sparks fans. Diehards swear by Propaganda, Kimono My House and Indiscreet and give up on anything after those highly eccenctric art-glam albums. I stayed with them through the Giorgio Moroder-produced No.

You can hear soul and classic rock in Empress Hotel, but you can also hear art rock and indie as well, as "Holly" demonstrates. It's the first release from the band's upcoming album Heavy Halo, and it's due out September 11 on Park the Van Records.