Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands has garnered significant acclaim in recent years. Debuting with a self-titled album in 2020, then following it in 2023 with Fearless and now signed to InsideOutMusic, with label-head Thomas Waber commenting:
“Crown Lands are one of the most exciting young bands in our genre and we are proud and excited to be releasing their new albums. We see a very bright future for these young Canadians!”
Now, the Juno Award-winning group is poised to take the next step in their journey. While the duo, made up of vocalist and drummer Cody Bowles and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Comeau, work on their third studio album, they are first set to release a pair of ambitious instrumental albums titled Ritual I & Ritual II.
Both albums are layered with drums, synthesisers, and assorted percussion to create a complex tapestry of music unlike anything they have created before.
Comeau commented: “The Ritual project highlights a completely different side of Crown Lands. While the electric side of the band is full of bluster and drama, the Rituals show a more contemplative and meditative side of our music, and serve as world-building albums for the main storyline of our next album.”
Bowles added: “Ritual hopes to illustrate our primal connectedness to the natural world, and suggests a way to listen to that inner awareness that watches all without doing. In easing one’s mind and stilling the thoughts and chatter when listening to this record, we strive to catalyse a deeper connectedness to the present moment that is as peaceful as it is beautiful.”
Bowles and Kevin Comeau Kevin discuss the meaning behind Ritual in the video featured below
Ritual I was recorded during the uncertain period of the pandemic. With the band unable to enter the studio or tour, Bowles and Comeau looked for a creative outlet.
“I suppose this record became our act of defiance against stagnation, in a time when so many familiar lights around us flickered out in the deafening silence. It was a glimmer in our darkness,” claimed Bowles. “Ritual I was made during a tumultuous time in our lives, alongside producer Justin Meli in our little B Room at Chalet Recording Studios. It served as a reprieve from the upending haze of the pandemic, far from the high-pressure studio sessions that typically accompanied the pursuit of our mainstream sound.
It felt liberating to be so free with our creativity, and it was the next logical step for Kev and I, both in musicality and in scope: more textures, more strings, more complexity. We hope you enjoy these two journeys into unknown realms, and uncover the mysteries of the Ritual for yourself.”
With both albums featuring artwork by Justyna Koziczak, Ritual I can be streamed now here and features the tracks: ‘Dawn’, ‘The Storm’, ‘Vigil’, ‘Dusk’ and ‘The Serpent’.
