For four decades now, West Virginia prog rockers Crack The Sky have built an impressive fanbase despite very little airplay and the limitations of being on indie record labels. But Living In Reverse, the band’s 20th and latest effort, gives a pretty solid reason for the band’s longevity.
Across a dozen tracks, Crack The Sky don’t exactly cover new ground, sounding much like thy have since the ‘90s–but that sort of misses the point. They have zeroed in on a great mix of prog, new wave, and pop that manages to be both creative and accessible, and they have kept with that formula record after record.
Crack The Sky’s muscular guitars and heavy drums (especially on a track like “Raining Rain”) are an anomaly of sorts to the prog genre, boasting really strong classic metal and hard rock influences that add to the band’s appeal.
Unfortunately, lyrically, the group seems rather uninspired here (again, look at the song “Raining Rain”). There are some exceptions throughout, like on “Hit,” the closest thing to a ballad on Living In Reverse, a great song that hints at just how good this album could be if the lyrics could always live up to the promise of the music.
Regardless, the album is bound to be praised by longtime fans and may likely win over some new ones in the process.
