FUNERAL SKY, ARTS & CRAFTS
Funeral Sky is the debut album proper by Reuben and the Dark and absolutely must be listened to from start to finish. Prepare to soar amongst the stars and float with the oceans’ waves just below sea level as Reuben and the Dark’s frontman, Reuben Bullock, tells a soulful story about relationships and family struggles traveling from town to town as a preacher’s son.
Produced by Chris Hayden (drummer for Florence + The Machine) and Stephen Kozmeniuk (Madonna, Nicki Minaj), Funeral Sky sets the listener right beside Bullock on his journey. The album is mixed by Jim Abbiss (Adele, Arctic Monkeys), providing us with the much-loved harmonious, new alternative rock sound that spills out of Funeral Sky.
“Bow and Arrow” is the sugary beginning to the vortex of layered instrumental masterpieces that will drag you into the emotional intensity, followed up by “Standing Still.” This lyric-driven song bleeds through Bullock’s vocals in a soulful ballad about family, specifically his brother. Pessimism prevails in “Can’t See the Light,” highlighting how love is sandpapery, but only “sometimes.” Distance and heartache, youthful innocence and discovery are found here, spread amongst booming flower petals on both a rainy afternoon and a summers’ eve.
By Paige Paquette
BeatRoute Magazine 