Northern Crowns are two young men, Richard Araiza and Clinton Van Arnam, who hail from Los Cruces, New Mexico. From the sound of their debut, a self-titled EP, they have been two very hard working young men.
From the very first track, “Hideaway”, we are drawn in to the tune with a drum/cymbal intro that will grab hold of you from the very start. The tune is an extremely well crafted endeavor. Richard Araiza’s vocals are strong through out the record. On this particular track, he certainly exposes his range. The guitar rests just beneath the vocals and compliments the melody, creating a sonically pleasing sound, which raucously envelops the listener’s ears.
Every song on this EP is extremely well crafted and performed. When you listen to Northern Crowns, you will immediately be reminded of bands like My Chemical Romance or Panic at the Disco. Both bands are primarily vocal driven bands.
Northern Crowns is also driven by the expert vocalizations of Mr. Araiza. The songs are all extremely high-energy up-tempo compilations you will not be able to refrain from dancing too. You had just better be in some very good shape if you are actually contemplating getting up and grooving to Northern Crowns. They will absolutely wear you out!
The next track on the record is the violent “Man on the Phone”. A catchy rhythm guitar establishes the beat of the tune and lures Richard Araiza’s vibrant vocals in. This particular song was made into a video that can be viewed on their website. It’s an exciting song which tells the story of the primary character who happens to be obsessed by the “Man on the Phone”. It all ends violently. It’s a tune that takes risks and I like that in a tune.
I adore artists who take chances and Northern Crowns is not afraid to do that. There will definitely be comparisons to the bands mentioned previously in this review. That’s okay. Someone influences all bands. “The King” himself, Elvis Presley, influenced the Beatles. Therefore, no one should ever be insulted because another artist influenced them. Someone influences us all. That is just the way it i
I see this band going far if they can continue writing and performing the caliber of songs, they are currently writing and performing, but more importantly, keep taking risks. Keep writing ballsy material that transcends such a wide variety of emotions and topics. Do not be afraid to write songs like “Man on the Phone”. It is precisely topics like these that will separate Northern Crowns from those bands that have thus far influenced them.
Northern Crowns is not limited to the studio, where Mr. Araiza and Mr. Van Arnam are currently recording two more songs for this EP. As they said in their bio on their website, “We just booked the dates to go ahead and record two more songs at the same studio we recorded our EP (Radio Star Studios). We are going to record one original, and one cover (Dion’s “Runaround Sue”).” The two play every instrument, but also tour and have a band to back them up for live shows.
This is a very talented duo and I look forward to hearing a lot more from Northern Crowns in the future.
Reviewed By Rod Ames
