Crimson bloom

Swaggering into the new release section, ‘Finer Times In Other Worlds’, the second album from funky-bass-and-jangly-guitars outfit Crimson Bloom picks up where their debut left off; filling homes with late 80’/early 90s northern ‘baggy’ grooves and psychedelia.  Damian Robinson caught up with Crimson main song-writer Andrew Johnson to find out more about the album and the bands inability to stop moving.

You’re back with a double-album, that’s quite a re-introduction.

Yeah, it’s good to have something new out from Crimson Bloom.  When we were working we ended up with loads of ideas, so there’s 18 tracks on the album and we’re already getting ideas together for some new material.

Wow, and you covered ‘Connected’ in-between

We did, and to be fair that was enjoyable and helped us to really give some thought to our own sound.  I think with our first album we really were trying to make a new record by the Stone Roses, and then with ‘Finer Times’ and the material we’re working on at the minute we’re starting to find our own sound and our own groove.  Working through this cover was an important part in helping us find our own identity.  Connected seemed to really work and we were really happy with it.

I’m guessing there would have been a launch gig with the album had all been well?

Yeah, it would have been good to play the songs live, but there’s people starting to try to get some gigs in place for next March or April which is a little way, but some of the band have to plan ahead with jobs and things.  Plus it means we can look to maybe have some new material out which we can play.

Again with the new material

(Laughing) yeah, but we’ve got some momentum building up through Twitter and if there’s some interest then we need to try and build on it.  Maybe I shouldn’t say this but the album was completed, like most bands I guess, in the backdrop of Covid so what you hear might have been different if our original plans had not been affected.  There’s part of me that thinks that this is maybe the first draft of the album and that we may go back and add and take bits away in the future.  I’m really happy with the album, but it does mean there could be room for an edit in the future.

By then I’m guessing you’ll be well on the way to the next thing though?

Yeah, we’re sounding really good and we have some really interesting ideas for the future so it’s likely we’ll get out and play as soon as we can and, in the meantime, keep working on new ideas.

Finer Times In Other Worlds is available now.  A limited-edition Vinyl is available at Crimson Bloom’s bandcamp site.