Introducing “Darkness and Light” by Crooked Flower

In my day it was the harder psychedelic rock of Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, and Steppenwolf. Groups like Deep Purple and The Doors opened the path to a new sound, a new feel and new vibe in rock music. At the young age of nine I discovered Iron Butterfly and was hooked. You’ll find a taste of that sound and that invitation with Crooked Flower and their latest release.

Though the essence of this group is a little softer than some of those I’ve mentioned above, the pallet is there, the texture of the music and the feel is there. It’s there in the vibration you get as you sway and absorb the music into every fiber of your being. It makes you want to move, to get in to the wave and loose yourself in another world.

Although at times the vocals are set apart from the instrumentation of the songs, the lead singer, Angelina Dang is remarkable. Her vocals are crystal clear and her tone is exceptional. She changes the texture of her vocals with each song and at times her range is elevated but she is always on target.

The group is still quite young, only seven years old but they are well aged in talent. They have three albums so far, released from 2016 thru 2017 and the newest released just this year. It is apparent that they are determined to make a place for themselves in this industry.

“Darkness and Light” includes a nice single called “Bells of Brixton” which is a little long but worth it. It puts them a little more solidly in the category of psychedelic rock but doesn’t lock them in one genre all together. “Bells of Brixton” is more in line with the harder psychedelic mixes. It is filled with mesmerizing guitar and bass grooves as well as clashing cymbals and muddy movements. It takes me back many years. It’s a feel good song filled with a sampling of funky jazz, vivid rock and shows off the true talent in the group.

“Who You Are” reminds me of The Doors in the opening of the song. The deep vibrating bass and guitar rifts. The soft vocals are welcoming and I liked the echo, great touch. The pop feel, the mind-bending poly-chromatic groove is superb.

“Too Broke To Fix” has a cool intro that reminds me a bit of The Kinks. This would fall more in the pop rock scene. I enjoyed the driving jam of guitar and percussion and the echo effect again lends a neat touch. Brings back memories of the early 70’s and 80’s pop rock scenes. Angelina’s vocals are tight and fit well with the tempo. “I was born to be with you” is a great line that sticks with you. This is a song you won’t be able to sit still with, you’ll want to dance for sure.

All songs on this album were arranged by Crooked Flower. On vocals you’ll find Angelina Dang as well as lending her talents to keyboards and guitar. Daniel Erik (Tenenbaum)on bass, Dan Ingberman on guitar and Patrick Shields bringing in a great drums and percussion section. They fit nicely into the styles of rock, psychedelic rock, jam band rock, pop, and of course nicely in 70’s rock. This group has been likened to artists such as Cure, Pretenders, Grateful Dead, Clash, and No Doubt.

This album was r
ecorded at Jingletown Studios in Oakland California. It was engineered by Lee Bothwick and produced and mixed by some amazing talent, Gordon Brislawn, Daniel Erik, and Dan Ingberman.

Cover art by Ingberman and provided courtesy of Independent Music Promotions.

For more information on the group and how you can enjoy all of their music please visit the links below.

Artist Links
Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
Youtube Channel

About Sherryl Craig 410 Articles
Sherryl is a Senior Writer and Assistant Editor with Nashville Music Guide and her blog, Lyrics N Legends has been featured since 2012. Her articles has graced the cover and have appeared as feature stories in the NMG print edition. She is also a member of WMMW, Women of Music Music of Women, a non-profit organization in support of women in the music industry. WMMW also appears here in Nashville Music Guide.

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