ONEmpire come out with brand new single

(From left) ONEmpire members Garth D'Mello, Atish Thomas, Gavin Cason, Loy Henriques and Zarir Warden (sitting)

There is a scene in the 1996 film, That Thing You Do that can serve as a valuable lesson for any band that's looking for a name to give itself. The members of the fictitious musical outfit that the movie is centered on decide to call themselves The Oneders. It's a title that's meant to be pronounced as The Wonders. But when they are up on stage for their debut gig, the announcer bungles up and introduces the act as The One-eders. That leaves the short-tempered lead singer fuming, but sadly, the damage has already been done.

So, the Mumbai-based outfit ONEmpire have done well to include the capital letters in their name, though there is still room for confusion. Is it pronounced "one empire"? Or is it "on empire"? Either way, we are digressing. For, the point of this article is to extol the musicality of their new single, Run to you. It's a straight-up stadium-rock track with an anthemic sound that grabs anyone suffering from depression by the shoulders, shakes him, and says, "Hey! It's all right. I'm there for you. Life's not that bad."

This message seems to get through in the three-minute mark when the rousing song suddenly goes silent for a moment, only for the guitar riffs to return with renewed gusto. You imagine at this point that the person the lyrics are addressing remembers how to smile again, draws his curtains to let the sunlight in, and takes a walk to feel one with the world. And full marks to the band for achieving that, for in doing so, they have combated an inevitable sense of despair that's part and parcel of the human condition.

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