Gut Feeling
When Crown Lands found themselves without a label, they immersed themselves in total creative freedom, magic mushrooms and 80s King Crimson. The result is a widescreen three-album arc, starting with two psychedelic meditation records: Ritual I and Ritual II. Prog catches up with the duo to find out more about their epic prog dreams.
Words: Phil Weller
“The guitars on
Ritual II
are a lot more angular and arpeggiated like King Crimson’s
Discipline
and
Beat
. They were really big inspirations for me.”
Kevin Comeau
Crown Lands: when a picture speaks a thousand words (and time signatures).
Images: Luke Paron
Canadian multi-instrumentalist duo Crown Lands have been granted something of a resurrection.
InsideOutMusic have signed them after two albums with Universal Music Canada/Spinefarm where they, in their own words, rebuked the sound on which they were signed to explore far more progressive universes.
Kevin Comeau (guitar, bass, keyboards) says the musical landscape shifted in the period between putting pen to paper and issuing second album, Fearless in 2023. When they expressed a desire to release Starlifter: Fearless Part II, the album’s near 20-minute opening track as a single, it was clear to the band the label they’d signed to –one pushing accessible Led Zeppelin and Rush-inspired sounds during a period rich with classic rock revivalists –was on a different page.