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Crown Lands (band)

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Crown Lands
OriginOshawa, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Years active2015–present
Labels
Members
  • Cody Bowles
  • Kevin Comeau
Websitewww.crownlandsmusic.com

Crown Lands is a Canadian rock music duo from Oshawa, Ontario.[1] The band consists of vocalist/drummer Cody Bowles, and guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Kevin Comeau.[1][2] With prog-rock influences, the duo compose music and lyrics inspired by Indigenous resistance to colonialism.[3] They have stated that their name, "Crown Lands", communicates a desire to disrupt the concept of Canadian "crown land", or government-held lands stolen from First Nations.[4]

Crown Lands won the Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.[5] The band were also nominated for Rock Album of the Year.[6] Their sophomore album Fearless was nominated for Rock Album of the Year at the 2024 Juno Awards.[7]

History

[edit]

The band was formed in 2015 when Comeau and Bowles began 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.[2][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 resistance, including "Mountain" and "End of the Road".[15][16]

In October and November 2022, the band opened for Greta Van Fleet on their U.S. Tour.[17] On February 24, 2023 they released the single "Lady of the Lake".[18] That song and the following single "Starlifter: Fearless Pt. II" were included on the band's second album, Fearless, released on March 31, 2023 and produced by David Bottrill.[19] The band toured across Canada in support of Fearless in the spring of 2023 alongside July Talk.[20] In the fall of 2023, Crown Lands toured with Kiss on their final tour.[21]

In December 2023 Bowles, who had been raised by a father who identified as Mi'kmaq, released a public statement revealing that genealogical research had found that they were not indigenous at all, but in fact was of Black Nova Scotian descent.[22] They apologized for any harm caused to indigenous communities by their erroneous beliefs about their heritage.[22]

Members

[edit]
  • Cody Bowles (they/them) (vocals, drums)
  • Kevin Comeau (he/him) (guitar, bass, keyboards)

Awards

[edit]
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

[edit]

Studio Albums

[edit]
List of full-length Studio albums, with selected details
Title Album details
Crown Lands
Fearless

Live albums

[edit]
List of full-length live albums, with selected details
Title Album details
Odyssey Vol. 1

EPs

[edit]
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

Singles

[edit]
  • "Mountain" (2018)
  • "Feeling Good" (2020)
  • "End of the Road" (2020)
  • "Context: Fearless Pt. 1" (2021)
  • "White Buffalo" (2021)
  • "Come Together" (2022)
  • "Lady of the Lake" (2023)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Jordan Gill, "Oshawa duo Crown Lands hits the road with Jack White on Canadian tour". CBC News Indigenous, November 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hiatt, Brian (11 March 2021). "Does This Young Canadian Duo Pull Off Their Gutsy Rush Tribute?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  3. ^ Karen Bliss, "Rock Duo Crown Lands Talk Indigenous Issues, Anti-Semitism and Tree-Planting". Samaritan Magazine, September 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Matt Wallock, "Crown Lands Drop “Howlin’ Back” With A Kaleidoscopic Visualizer". American Songwriter, May 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Holly Gordon and Andrea Warner, "Here are the 2021 Juno Award winners". CBC Music, June 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
  7. ^ "Juno Awards Twitter".
  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.
  17. ^ "Greta Van Fleet announce huge U.S. arena tour". Kerrang!. March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  18. ^ Ewing, Jerry (24 February 2023). "Crown Lands release video for suitably epic new single Lady Of The Lake". Louder. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  19. ^ Hudson, Alex (1 February 2023). "Crown Lands Announce New Album 'Fearless,' Share 18-Minute Prog Song". Exclaim. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  20. ^ ""July Talk Plot 2023 Coast-to-Coast Canadian Tour"".
  21. ^ "[News] Crown Lands to support legendary KISS in the Canadian leg of "End Of The Road World Tour"". 6 September 2023.
  22. ^ a b Megan LaPierre, "Cody Bowles of Crown Lands Addresses Indigeneity Questions: 'I Experienced My Entire Life Through This Lens of Being'". Exclaim!, December 11, 2023.
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