LOS ANGELES, CA- On June 6th, 2019, Blurred Culture was able to celebrate the release of Crimson Apple‘s newest EP Somebody with a special performance in Los Angeles at the Live House In Hollywood. After being blown away with the performance earlier in the year on a small stage at The Mint, we were eager to see how their performance would translate on a larger stage and to hear them play their new music live. We were not disappointed.
First things first: The EP is a solid 6 tracks of pure, indie pop-perfection. Though they used several different producers for the album, the sound of the collection of tracks is constant, which demonstrates that the sisters knew what kind of sound they were looking and made sure that they achieved a sonic cohesiveness with the music on the EP. Sweeping hooks. Catchy melodies. Huge dynamics. The sound on this EP is immense and impressive, particularly Crimson Apple’s lead singer Colby Benson’s voice and the way it was produced for Somebody. Her classical training is clearly paying dividends as you can hear and feel the power derived from her breath support when she belts out emotional lyrics.
When I was able to catch up with the band recently, I asked them whether they were partial to any song in particular. As a collective, they responded:
“It’s really hard to pick just one song that means the most to us because we feel like this whole EP is very important to us as a band. If we had to pick though, the band is split between “Somebody” and “Sorry Now!” “Somebody” was the first song we finished recording off the EP, and “Sorry Now” was the last. “Somebody” represents our hopes, dreams, and the journey that we’ve been on together as sisters. “Sorry Now” is a song about a bad situation that we all experienced together, and coming out of that terrible situation, writing this song really helped us feel stronger and more confident in our path.“
The band released the tracks “Can’t Get Out Of Bed” and “Somebody” as singles ahead of the EP’s release. Both of those recordings are amazing in their own right (and clearly fan favorites as each have garnered over 100K and 50K streams on Spotify alone), but I’ve got to mention that my favorite cut is the album’s finale: “Who Knows”.
If you’ll allow me to be a music nerd for a second, I love how “Who Knows” is written. With its verse, bridge 1, bridge 2, chorus, song structure, it’s just a steady swell of musical tension that steadily crescendos until Colby until it bursts on the final “whoa” following “where we could have gone” before the last chorus. God, I love that. Plus, I love the melodic line Colby sings when she questions, “Who know where we could have gone?” in bridge 2. To me, “Who Knows” is one hell of a power-pop jam.
Needless to say, them performing “Who Knows” at their EP release show was a highlight for me. Even though I knew what was coming, the hairs on the back of my neck still stood at attention when Colby sang that “Whoa”, which is a testament to the power of great songwriting.
For this performance, they played each of the songs from the EP and also threw in a song that I wasn’t familiar with titled “Time Changes Everything” and a couple of covers (Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” and The Hush Sound’s “Wine Red”, which actually has the lyrics “who missed the crimson apple” in its opening lines and which they also interpolated The Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” into.
On a stage that was almost tens time larger than the stage I last saw them perform on, the Benson sisters once again put on a fantastically polished performance that seriously rivaled some acts I’ve seen on amphitheater or sports arena stages. Their musicality, charisma, and youth have got me sincerely believing that it’s only a matter of time before these young ladies get that moment that really puts them in the limelight. I’ll tell you this … If I worked A&R at a major label, I’d have already signed them. Just sayin’.
Crimson Apple have a few shows in Anaheim in July and August, and will also travel to Bethlehem, PA for Musikfest.
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