Generating a towering wall of guitars and keyboards that mirrors the complicated, often desperate lives of his characters, Empty Country is a powerful indie rock band led by Joseph D'Agostino, who previously fronted the celebrated indie group Cymbals Eat Guitars. Empty Country's rich blend of melody and dissonance is all the more impressive as D'Agostino handles most of the instruments himself for his studio sessions, often with only a rhythm section to help him build his sounds. 2020's Empty Country introduced the project and marked D'Agostino's shift as a lyricist from autobiographical themes to character-driven storytelling, while 2023's Empty Country II sounded harder, deeper, and more emotionally intense.