Crown the Empire - Sudden Sky Review

Review by Brittany Swigert

Crown the Empire is set to release a new album “Sudden Sky” on July 17th and if you have been following the singles you know you are in for something awesome. Recently they released a strangely animated video for one of their newest singles “MZRY” and it caught my attention. The song was great and even though the animation style of the video was unusual it had my attention. And I wanted more. I had just caught the release of the single “Sudden Sky” and perhaps that was what made me click on the YouTube notification for the “MZRY” video. The album title “Sudden Sky” opens with a monologue and I liked the message it held. It really resonated with me and I think it is something a lot of us will relate to.
From there the album really gets started. The next track sets the stage for the rest of the album. The electronic influences that were so prevalent in “Retrograde” are back and better than ever. They are blended in so well with the instrumentals and the vocals and that isn’t always an easy task when you are putting together tracks like the ones they are known for. Andy’s screams are amazing and his cleans are just as good. There is so much power in the way he sings, and it brings everything to life. I also feel the need to call out Brent Taddie here, because what he did on this album is pure magic. The drums stand out to me more than any of the other instrumentals. His performance here was certainly worth checking out. Brandon and Hayden brought some great sounds to the tracks and really complemented everything making this an album I don’t want anyone to sleep on. When this album came down the Varsity pipeline I jumped at the chance to do the review because I knew they made music that was pretty close to what I listen to on a regular basis and I had really enjoyed the singles that have come out recently. I went back and checked out some of their prior releases to get an idea of where they have grown and how they have changed, and I have to say they are consistently evolving. If you hear one of their songs you know it’s them, but their sound seems to be growing and changing with every new release. This album took me by surprise and I have to say I look forward to seeing what they do next.