Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow Post “Maps of Inferno” Video; Collaborative EP out April 28
Bourdeaux, France, progressive heavy psychedelic rockers Mars Red Sky are drawing closer to the April 28 release of their new collaborative EP, Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow, set to issue through their own Mrs Red Sound imprint and Vicious Circle Records. The trio’s first work since 2019’s The Task Eternal (review here), it sees Helen Ferguson, aka folk solo artist Queen of the Meadow, step in on lead vocals for the tracks “Maps of Inferno” (7:17) and “Out at Large” (5:39), with an edit called “Maps of Inferno (Shortcut)” (4:44) rounding out as a reprise.
All told, they’re done in under 18 minutes, and that is the source of my only complaint about Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow — it’s not enough. Unless they’re planning a series of these releases as a four-piece with Ferguson up front alongside Mars Red Sky guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras, bassist/sometimes-vocalist Jimmy Kinast and drummer Mathew “Matgaz” Gazeau, two originals and the ‘shortcut’ just don’t cut it. From the wah-drenched solo in “Out at Large” and the density of the low end that feels so true to the band’s roller-fuzz beginnings to the Joni Mitchell-esque declarations delivered firmly by Ferguson in “Maps of Inferno” — long or short — and back again, the EP feels complete in its own terms with the focused-on-structure bookend they give it, but those terms leave one wanting more in a visceral way. There’s further
they can go into that wash at the end of “Out at Large,” more to do with the bounce in “Maps of Inferno,” and certainly exploration to be done in the harmonies from Pras and Ferguson together.
EPs often precede LPs for Mars Red Sky — their discography is a big ol’ back and forth between long and short offerings — and this wouldn’t be the first time the band have expanded beyond their core lineup before going back to it for their next record, but the richness of “Maps of Inferno” begs to be fleshed out across at least one full-length, building as it does on an established partnership between Ferguson and Pras — on multiple levels; they may or may not be married — the latter of whom who has produced albums for the former and featured on guitar and vocals. Combining that spirit with the tonal weight of Mars Red Sky feels like a bolster to the band’s approach, influential as they’ve been in bringing together an abiding lushness in the sweetness of Pras‘ vocals and the heft of their increasingly complex grooves, which is something else “Maps of Inferno” demonstrates in its mellowed-out ambient break, peppered with sparse guitar as it moves fluidly through a swaying jam en route back to the central riff from whence it came, Matgaz‘s drums thudding the change.
There’s a lot of 2023 left, I understand, but Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow are the standard to which I’ll be comparing EPs for the rest of the year, and right now that feels like a pretty mammoth ask of, well, anybody. As of this writing, I haven’t seen the video yet for “Maps of Inferno,” and honestly I don’t even know if it’s the long or short version of the track yet, but what matters here is that the collaboration between Ferguson and Mars Red Sky has resulted in something special beyond what one might’ve expected of the elements involved, and it is a release that demands to be heard no less than it demands a follow-up. I hope it gets both.
Enjoy the clip and, most importantly, the song:
Mars Red Sky, “Maps of Inferno” official video
When the power of psychedelic heavy meets the depth of dark folk harmonies, it results in a complex and exhilarating flavor. The daring combination opens up the genres to a whole new dimension. MARS RED SKY’s new EP, soberly entitled “Mars Red Sky & Queen Of The Meadow”, exalts and enhances the trio’s magic formula: namely, the blend of a robust and determined rhythm section with jagged and ambitious vocals, all evolving within a unique soundscape. The two tracks of the record suggest a disturbing journey through an immense maze directly inspired by mad architect Piranesi and his towers with terrifying staircases. Real melodic narrative, Queen Of The Meadow’s vocals carve out an unexpected intensity. Mars Red Sky offers here an abyssal production, polished and unheard of.
Produced, recorded and mixed by Benjamin Mandeau at Cryogène Studio, Bègles (France).
Mastering: Ladislav Agabekov at Caduceus Studios, Gimel (Switzerland).
Band photography: Jessica Calvo (photography), Fluor_99 (artwork).
Cover: Machado Leão (artwork), Brett Kielick (photography).
Layout: Floriane Fontaine
All songs composed, written and arranged by Mars Red Sky and Queen Of The Meadow:
Helen Ferguson: lead vocals and melodies
Julien Pras: guitars, back-up vocals
Jimmy Kinast: bass
Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau: drums
Queen of the Meadow on Facebook
Queen of the Meadow on Instagram
Queen of the Meadow on Bandcamp
Queen of the Meadow on YouTube
Vicious Circle Records on Facebook
Vicious Circle Records on Instagram
Vicious Circle Records on Bandcamp
Vicious Circle Records website
Tags: Bordeaux, France, Mars Red Sky, Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow, Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow Self-titled, Mrs Red Sound, self-titled, Vicious Circle Records
