Review Fix Exclusive: Crimson Calamity Talks ‘Wild Card’

Review Fix chats with Crimson Calamity, who discuss their new EP, “Wild Card.”

About Crimson Calamity:

Prolific musicians and songwriters, Crimson Calamity will debut their new EP, “Wild Card,” on February 11th, 2022. The Nashville duo, comprised of Lauren Harding and Mallory Trunnell, have been writing and performing together since 2014. Inspired by the music of Fleetwood Mac and the Civil Wars, they merge Americana and Folk Rock in a way that connects with listeners across borders. On their newest project, they set to write and record with a hit list of Nashville studio stars, including drummer Chris Powell (Brandi Carlile, A Star is Born), Guitarist Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbel & The 400 Unit), and Bass and Cello player Brian Allen (A Star is Born, Reba). All songs were produced, engineered, mixed by Gena Johnson, the album was recorded at woman-owned MOXE and Studio G in Nashville, TN.

The free-spirited opening song, “Wild Card,” sets the tone for an EP that encapsulates the hope and intensity of the EP itself. Infused between the rambling guitar and cascade of hopeful harmonies, the story of love comes at you full throttle. Attwood magazine said of the song, “The effortless, airy feel creates a sense of comfort contrasted by lyrics of discomfort and uncertainty.” The instrumental layers shine thanks to the simultaneous tracking, which puts listeners in the center of all.  Next up is the witty and fun “My Best Friends,” which harkens back on moments with friends lounging around and getting into trouble. The languid, sweet instrumentals lull listeners into a sense of freedom and carelessness, which comes even more to life in the music video, which was premiered on Americana UK. The music and video are exactly the kind of carefree song that takes us out of our reality through both visuals and lyrics.

Review Fix: What makes this EP awesome?

Crimson Calamity: For us, this EP was a bit of a departure from our previous sound. It was us surrendering to the vision of our producer, Gena Johnson and trusting in her expertise and brilliance. We were lucky enough to have some incredible Nashville players on this record like Chris Powell, Brian Allen and Sadler Vaden as well as LA guitar hero, Zane Carney. It was produced, engineered and mastered by an all female team and recorded at a female owned studio which is rare and was frickin’ awesome.

Review Fix: How do you guys evolve the sound of Fleetwood Mac and The Civil Wars?

Crimson Calamity: We have been inspired by both groups for so long that it just happened naturally. The timelessness of Fleetwood is something to aspire to and the harmonies and melodies of The Civil Wars are everything. We are always so flattered whenever anyone compares us to either group. We tend to get Heart quite a bit as well and we will take it!

Review Fix: How can a break-up be a good thing for a musician?

Crimson Calamity: Well we love a good break up song, so it can definitely be good songwriting material. Obviously, it’s completely circumstantial and break ups usually suck no matter who you are but being able to process the heartache through art is super helpful. If we, as artists, can as Adele says, “turn my sorrow into treasured gold” and maybe help others process their pain along the way, then that’s pretty special.

Review Fix: How important do you think female-fronted rock is?

Crimson Calamity: Women in rock have often been seen as a gimmick or a novelty but we’d argue that female musicians are the backbone of the music industry (including rock) and deserve a lot more recognition than they are given.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with Kris Bradley?

Crimson Calamity: Kris is awesome and super talented! We have collaborated with her on a handful of tunes including two of our singles (Sowyn Song and Fool’s Gold). She really has such a knack and prowess for crafting hooks and clever rhymes while maintaining heart and artistic integrity. We are so proud of all she is accomplishing with her company Produce Like A Boss.

Review Fix: What track is your favorite?

Crimson Calamity: This is tough! Ghost, Sowyn Song and WildCard are probably our favs but we love them all and think they’ve each been a favorite at one time or another. The music video for My Best Sister Rosetta Tharpe, is the “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

As a black, queer woman in the earlier side of rock n roll that was already dominated by male artists, she shifted the culture and broke conventions. We look up to women like her, Stevie Nicks, Nina Simone Joni Mitchell Alanis Morissette and Joan Jett etc for making the path itself and beginning to paving the way.

Friends is SO fun and we had such a blast making it with our director Mike Darling… if you haven’t seen it, lets just say there are puppets involved and it’s very silly ;)

Review Fix: Which one do you think has the potential to grow on the most people?

Crimson Calamity: That’s tough to say, it always seems to be a different song than we expect it to be. Maybe WildCard because of its dreamy quality and hopeful message.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this EP?

Crimson Calamity: We released 5 of the 6 songs as singles over the last year and change and we really felt like they all worked well as a collection. The goal was to release them on vinyl with a live record on the B side but the vinyl delays are almost a year long right now so we pivoted. Our goal now is to continue building our amazing team, play live as much as possible in these crazy times and reach as many new listeners as possible. Hopefully our songs can impact others and make a difference.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Crimson Calamity: Well since we started this project pre-pandemic, we are really looking forward to working on our new material in the studio and getting started on our next record. We hope to tour abroad as soon as it’s safe as well with fellow female duo The Daily Fare.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Crimson Calamity: Thanks so much for chatting with us! We also want to let people know about our podcast The Liner Notes with Crimson Calamity! We do deep dive interviews, performances and reviews with fellow artists… an audiocapsule of sorts. You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts and follow us on instagram at @thelinernotespod as well as the band account @crimsoncmusic.