Crown Lands (band)

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Crown Lands
Crown Lands in 2020. From left to right: Bowles and Comeau.
Crown Lands in 2020. From left to right: Bowles and Comeau.
Background information
OriginOshawa, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Years active2015-present
Labels
Websitewww.crownlandsmusic.com
Members
  • Cody Bowles
  • Kevin Comeau

Crown Lands is a Canadian rock music duo from Oshawa, Ontario,[1] most noted as the winners of the Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.[2] The band were also nominated for Rock Album of the Year.[3]

The band consists of vocalist and drummer Cody Bowles, and guitarist, bassist and keyboardist Kevin Comeau.[1][4] Bowles identifies as Mi'kmaq[1] and two-spirit,[5] while Comeau is Jewish,[1] and the duo write partially but not exclusively from an activist perspective.[6] They have stated that their name communicates a desire to reclaim the concept of Canadian crown land, which is government-held land that was largely stolen from First Nations.[7]

History[]

The band was formed in 2015 by Kevin Comeau and Cody Bowles, who started out together by jamming in a friend's barn. Comeau studied classical music at Western University in London, Ontario, and Bowles studied psychology and music at York University in Toronto. Their first EP, Mantra, was released on August 18, 2016.[8] They released their second EP Rise Over Run on September 8, 2017.[9] It includes the band's single "Mountain", about colonialism and the history of residential schools in Canada.[10] In 2018, the band opened for Jack White on the Canadian leg of his tour.[11] On June 11, 2020, they released the acoustic EP Wayward Flyers, Vol. 1 on Universal,[12] featuring a cover of Neil Young's "Birds".[13]

Their full-length self-titled debut album was released on August 13, 2020, and was produced in Nashville by Dave Cobb.[4][12] The album was preceded by the single "End of the Road", a protest song about the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women whose video features narration by Tanya Tagaq.[14]

Their March 2021 single "Context: Fearless Pt. 1" is a tribute to the band Rush, a 10-part song with sections referencing Rush's work. They made a demo of the song with Terry Brown, producer of Rush's first nine albums, and later worked on the track with Nick Raskulinecz, co-producer of two Rush albums, and Rush producer David Bottrill.[12]

In July 2021, the band released the single "White Buffalo", along with "The Oracle", both produced by David Bottrill.[15] Both songs were included on the band's four-track EP White Buffalo, released on September 16, 2021, on Spinefarm Records / Universal Music Canada.[16] The band describes "White Buffalo" as the third in a trilogy of songs about indigenous rights, including "Mountain" and "End of the Road".[15][16]

Members[]

  • Cody Bowles (vocals, drums)
  • Kevin Comeau (guitar, bass, keyboards)

Awards[]

Year Award Category Work Result
2021 Juno Award Breakthrough Group of the Year Crown Lands Won
Juno Award Rock Album of the Year Crown Lands Nominated

Discography[]

Albums[]

List of full-length albums, with selected details
Title Album details
Crown Lands

EPs[]

List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Album details
Mantra
  • Released: August 18, 2016
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Rise Over Run
  • Released: September 8, 2017
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Wayward Flyers, Vol. 1
  • Released: June 11, 2020
  • Label: Universal
  • Formats: LP, digital download
White Buffalo
  • Released: September 16, 2021
  • Label: Spinefarm/Universal
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles[]

  • "Mountain" (2018)
  • "Feeling Good" (2020)
  • "End of the Road" (2020)
  • "Context: Fearless Pt. 1" (2021)
  • "White Buffalo" (2021)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Jordan Gill, "Oshawa duo Crown Lands hits the road with Jack White on Canadian tour". CBC News Indigenous, November 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Holly Gordon and Andrea Warner, "Here are the 2021 Juno Award winners". CBC Music, June 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Hiatt, Brian (11 March 2021). "Does This Young Canadian Duo Pull Off Their Gutsy Rush Tribute?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  5. ^ Fraser Lewry, "Rising stars Crown Lands announce debut album details". Classic Rock, July 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Karen Bliss, "Rock Duo Crown Lands Talk Indigenous Issues, Anti-Semitism and Tree-Planting". Samaritan Magazine, September 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Matt Wallock, "Crown Lands Drop “Howlin’ Back” With A Kaleidoscopic Visualizer". American Songwriter, May 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Wittnebel, Joel (6 September 2017). "Oshawa's rising stars: From origin to the big stage". Oshawa Express. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  9. ^ Henry Yates, "Six things you need to know about... Crown Lands". Classic Rock, September 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Wolfe, Nicole (30 March 2018). "Crown Lands release new music video for "Mountain"". Canadian Beats. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  11. ^ Gill, Jordan (8 November 2018). "Oshawa duo Crown Lands hits the road with Jack White on Canadian tour". CBC. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Krewen, Nick (14 April 2021). "Oshawa's Crown Lands lends their classic-rock-influenced style to Indigenous issues and injustices". Toronto Star. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  13. ^ Slingerland, Calum (28 May 2020). "Crown Lands Cover Neil Young on New EP". Exclaim. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ Anita Tai, "Canadian Band Crown Lands Honours Missing Indigenous Women With New Single ‘End Of The Road’". Entertainment Tonight Canada, July 16, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Crown Lands unveil new video for White Buffalo". Louder. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  16. ^ a b Feibel, Adam (16 September 2021). "Crown Lands Craft Gloriously Epic Retro Rock on 'White Buffalo'". Exclaim. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
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