What It Takes to Move Forward is the debut studio album by American emo band, Empire!

Empire!

(I Was a Lonely Estate), released in 2009 on Count Your Lucky Stars Records.

[1] Vulture.com listed "Keep What You Have Built Up Here" as number 87 of the 100 greatest emo songs.

[2] Spin ranked the album number 13 out of the 30 best emo revival albums, writing that the album had "garnered a mythical cult status" after its release.