Crimson Sky present their debut album, Misunderstood in 2009. Previously I reviewed the band’s 2006 EP, ‘Only Love’ , of which only two songs are used, “I Don’t Count That Time” and “Misunderstood II”. There have been some significant changes in the line-up. Only Martin Leamon (guitars) and Clive Lambert (bass) carried on. Joining them are Holly Anne Thody (vocals), Chris Cadley (keyboards) and Ali Woodman (drums).
Just as the previous demo release, the band still follows in the grand tradition of bands like Camel, Mostly Autumn, Magenta, Marillion (Fish-era), Iona, Karnataka, Mermaids Kiss and Queccia while retaining their own identity. The raw dirty sound is to me what makes them stand out from those bands.
From the opening track, "After The Rain" the band pulls you in for a wonderful journey chock full of soaring guitars and fantastic vocals, that takes only an hour. Next track “Turn It Up” has a more punk/new wave attitude to it, in many ways reminds me of how the neo-prog bands approached in the 80’s but with a modern vision. Holly sings her guts out here.
"Seasons End" (not the Marillion song), "Thing's Die" (the approach is similar to “After The Rain”) and "A Sleep That Burns" (the epic) perfectly conclude the first part of the album in grand style.
Concluding the album is "the Misunderstood suite" comprised of 6 tracks (the instrumental opening “Misunderstood I“, the haunting ballads “The Sea“, “I Don’t Count That Time”, the almost instrumental “Misunderstood II”, another sweet sounding that contains some of the most beautiful vocals on the album. “The Space Between Us” and the concluding piece “Misunderstood III”). This is the highlight of the entire album. It has all the makings of a timeless classic.
If you’re tired of the over-produced, over saturated progressive rock then look no further then Crimson Sky. While I haven’t seen them live, the overall vibe I get from the album could be representation of how they sound in a live setting. They would also be great candidates for any of the American prog festivals in 2010.
Crimson Sky’s debut ‘Misunderstood’ is by far one of my top favorite releases of 2009 If you enjoy the bands aforementioned above, then it’s a no brainer that this album needs to be in your collection ASAP! So without any doubt, gets a high recommendation!
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on December 19th, 2009
