Simon RushworthCrown Lands — Fearless (Spinefarm)
You can’t accuse Canadian duo Crown Lands of lacking ambition.
Kicking off your sophomore album with an 18-minute prog rock epic is brave, bordering on the foolhardy.
But Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau are no fools. Far from it.
The unapologetic partners in prog rock crime have raided the vaults to produce a retro-soaked record for the ages.
Fearless is, as the name suggests, bereft of any caution and overflowing with glorious aspiration.
It’s a creatively rich platter certain to satiate the hunger of Rush fans rabid for something daringly different.
And it seems Bowles and Comeau are the right men, in the right place at the right time.
Their delicious concoction of classic rock, AOR and prog has always been a mouthwatering prospect.
But after 2016’s titillating hors d’oeuvre Mantra and the sumptuous main course that was 2020’s self-titled full-length debut, Fearless is a veritable feast for the senses.
Singer and drummer Bowles is a half-Mi’kmaq who identifies as Two Spirit.
And in guitarist/keyboardist Comeau (yes, these two really do it all), he’s clearly found a kindred spirit.
The ‘Rush rip-off’ accusation might niggle a less confident duo.
But Crown Lands are self-assured for a reason: theirs is a sound and a partnership that’s far too strong to let lazy digs divert them from a common creative path.
Fearless does what it says on the tin. And then some.
Crown Lands Is Fertile Prog
Starlifter: Fearless Pt. II is quite possibly the most pretentious title for an album opener you’ll read all year.
It’s backed up by 18 minutes of multi-paced, melodic prog divided into at least nine parts.
Fearless’s meandering, magical opener is the very antithesis of commercially hot, verse-chorus hard rock.
And it’s the most wonderful reintroduction to the peerless Crown Lands.
Some surmise that Bowles and Comeau are a band out of time.
But surely the canny Canucks are very much of their time?
The world’s been crying out for a creatively rich combo capable of filling the Rush void.
And where Greta Van Fleet occasionally flounder in their mission to emulate Led Zeppelin’s finer moments, Crown Lands remain flawless with a series of well-intentioned and respectful nods to their fellow countrymen.
They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
Well, Fearless isn’t really imitation. It’s much more than that.
It’s building on the foundations of a tried and tested formula — as much as prog rock on this grand scale can be formulaic — and propelling an armour-plated genre into the future.
There are so many intriguing layers bubbling beneath the Fearless surface.
Listen out for the Leppard-styled guitars on Right Way Back (the closest Crown Lands come to a possible ‘hit’ single).
And lose yourself in the dreamy instrumental Penny as Comeau comes over all Joe Satriani.
Lady Of The Lake out-Zepps the Fleet with its thrilling 70s throwback feel.
But the crowning glory? Set closer Citadel’s perfectly pitched piano-led panache.
Bowles and Comeau have nailed that difficult second album.
After 2020’s spirited debut screamed rich potential, this is the promised Lands.
