Red Crow – Burning North Sky

Crushed velvet and broken glass, cigar smoke and a gathering storm. RedCrow is a band of contrary themes. Americana roots music shares a whiskey with wide ambient soundscapes; concise, lyrically rich songs swap cigarettes with longer ambling works that only end when it seems right to do so. Moonlight keys and chiming guitars, tight soul-pulsing bass and vocals like a breeze beneath your skin
credits
released August 10, 2015

Sarah Calderwood – Vocals, whistles, ukulele
Paul Brandon – Acoustic & electric guitars, percussion, vocals
Mirko Ruckels – Vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, banjo
Markus Karlsen – Double bass, vocals

Review by Graham Blackley

RedCrow, a talented four-piece band from Brisbane featuring vocals, flutes, whistles, ukulele, keys, guitar, banjo, percussion and double bass, pack an almighty punch with this entrancing seven-track album. RedCrow’s description of their sound as “dark, sultry, humid roots music with velvety swathes of folk, rock and blues” seems apt as the rootsy alt-country vibe that underpins many of the songs is complemented by unexpected trips into more atmospheric and moody terrain. Pulsing with quiet grandeur the moving As the Crow Flies feels almost cinematic as it conjures images of a “black sun” and “a girl who is a silhouette” while the quartet grabs the listener’s attention with the glorious vocal harmonies that propel buoyantly infectious songs such as Boarded Up Shop and Hold Me Down. Sarah Calderwood’s powerful vocals are one of the many highlights of this exciting album as she moves effortlessly from the sprightly folk-pop of Fade Away to the wonderfully defiant I Won’t Bend.