SPILL NEW MUSIC: CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK DUO CROWN LANDS SIGN WORLDWIDE DEAL WITH INSIDEOUTMUSIC | LAUNCH ‘RITUAL I’

Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands have garnered acclaim in recent years with their self-titled debut album released in 2020, followed by the brilliant 2023 follow-up, Fearless. Now signed to InsideOutMusic, 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, synths, and various bits of percussion to create a complex tapestry of music unlike anything they have created before. Stream Ritual I now HERE.

Of the Ritual I release, Kevin Comeau comments: “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.”

Cody Bowles adds: “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 catalyze a deeper connectedness to the present moment that is as peaceful as it is beautiful.”

InsideOutMusic label-head Thomas Waber adds: “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!”

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,” claims 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.”

The stunning artwork for both Ritual releases was created by Justyna Koziczak, and the full track-listing is below.

Bowles concludes, “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.”