Throughout their years together The Crowleys have focused on building a danceable set through a Venn diagram of inspiration from 60s rock, 80s pop and modern psychedelia. Peppered throughout their music is a driving and crunchy rhythm, distinctive synth warble, diverse vocals, and mind-melty pedalporn guitar.
Their debut LP, Strange Seasons, is a collection of songs by a Hamilton, ON, group of friends who wanted to share music with each other, and now the world. The album attempts to put the strangeness of the world into words and melody.
The instrumentation for the focus track “Seasons” was largely written by keyboard player/guitarist Justyn Horlick. It’s an emotional jazzy turnaround that repeats for most of the song. The ending, inspired by the Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings song “100 Days, 100 Nights,” features a transition from 4/4 time to 6/4 time. The lyrics on the other hand were penned by vocalist Giuliana Frontini, on a hot day in November when she noticed that she was unsettled by the temperature.
While the theme of the album is lightly steeped in environmental angst there is a romantic current throughout with lyrics often referencing a relationship with another person as a means of surviving the elements.
