Crown Lands – Fearless

Progressive Rock

81%

 

Some bands just seem to leave themselves more open to homage than others. There are dozens of bands over the years that have pitched themselves as the next AC/DC or Oasis or Led Zeppelin. Emulating everything from their sound and aesthetic to their stage persona. Not so much wearing their influences on their sleeve, so much as tattooing them on their foreheads. However, despite the intense admiration shown, these projects often feel like shallow, surface-level interpretations of what inspired them. Nearly every act that has tried to be the next Led Zeppelin for instance has boiled them down to hard rock riffs and wailing vocals, one narrow facet of their sound, rarely ever touching the blues, folk, prog or any of the more diverse and eclectic aspects of their work that equally define them as a band. 

In spite of the fact that they’ve often been called the biggest cult band on the planet, you don’t hear of Rush being emulated in the same way. The devotion is certainly there, and plenty of bands have taken their torch and ran with it to some degree, but I’ve never heard a band that sounded like it was pitching itself as “the next Rush”. I think the reason being is that it’s difficult to condense them down into a simplified form. They’re complex by their very nature. Wild chaotic melodic guitar, proud prominent bass lines and shimmering synths, detailed technical drum work, experimental without losing sight of musicality, maintaining balance between progressive and accessible attitudes, and always evolving with the times. Take any of that away and it stops being Rush. 

Fellow Canadians Crown Lands are acutely aware of this on their new record Fearless, and as a result every last intricate detail of that sound has been meticulously reconstructed piece by piece. Cody Bowles on drums and vocals, Kevin Comeau on guitar, bass and keyboards, between them pushing the limits of what grand designs just two people can deliver. Virtuoso multi-instrumentalists, releasing an album with a side-long sci fi epic – close your eyes and this could easily be a lost 70s Rush album from some alternate timeline. Crown Lands wave their starman banner proudly on this record and their talent and dedication to their craft has earned them every right to do so.

The 18 minute opener ‘Starlifter: Fearless Pt. II’ is worth the price of admission all on its own. Within the first minute you’re treated to a driving rhythm reminiscent of the ‘2112’ Overture, that same groove recurring later to bookend the track. There’s a section around the 3:20 mark that recalls an interlude from ‘Red Barchetta’, while the bass breakdown around 13:30 reminds me of part 2 of ‘Natural Science’. The whimsical warbling synths, with the menacing hum of the bass pedals and labyrinthine drum patterns in the background, around the 6:10 mark is just a perfect snapshot of the classic feel they have so absolutely nailed. Even moreso about 10 minutes in, you have the retro futurist synth sounds, bright gliding guitar tone and some of the best damn drum work around, all going off at once. It gives you one of those goosebump inducing moments – for Rush it was a moment reflecting “how are just three guys doing all this?”, whereas Crown Lands go one better; “what do you mean it’s only two guys!?”.

Elsewhere on the record the dreamy intro and tinkling chimes of ‘Reflections’ draws from ‘Xanadu’, ‘The Shadow’ throws some heavy blues tones into the mix, while the snappy ‘Right Way Back’ pulls no punches and feels like the first song I’ve heard in a long time where drums act as the lead instrument. The strong melodies and incredible production on ‘Dreamer of the Dawn’, so detailed and full of life and yet never losing sight of the main hooks, leans a bit more towards 80s Rush. If you’ll indulge a tangent, I’m reminded how in video games, what makes a great game world is the creator’s willingness to add in little moments and features that will get overlooked by the majority of players. ‘Dreamer of the Dawn’ has that same level of attention to detail, packing so much into four minutes that you’ll still be picking up something new many listens down the line. 

If it hadn’t dawned on you already, I’m a big Rush fan, and at its best Fearless sounds like an amalgamation of some of their greatest hits. But Rush themselves began trying to be Led Zeppelin, and in time became a different beast entirely, and there are few moments here where you hear the groundwork of Crown Lands beginning to do the same. ‘Penny’ is a beautiful acoustic folk number, while album closer ‘Citadel’ is a superb piano driven slow burner. Cody can struggle with diction (and I think occasionally enters frequencies only dogs can hear) when aiming for the high notes, but in the slightly lower registers we hear on ‘Context: Fearless Pt. I’ and the verses of ‘Lady of the Lake’, we hear vocals that seem to sit much more comfortably.

The biggest way Crown Lands set themselves apart however is in their messaging. While their wear their influences on the sleeve, on the other they wear indigenous heritage just as proudly. Beneath the expansive sci fi exterior ‘Starlifter’ is first and foremost a tale of fighting back against the loss wrought by colonialism and capitalism.

Fearless is an excellent record, and while the balance between the familiar and the band’s own ideas and identity still needs a little tweaking, a lot of promising progress has already been made. The torch is all theirs for the taking at this point.