David Cloyd sails through storms in long-awaited new album ‘Red Sky Warning’, and we’re in for the ride as he takes us on his impactful journey!
Featured Photo Credit: Taylor Ballantyne
Extended ALBUM REVIEW: Red Sky Warning by David Cloyd
For people who like…pop-rock, indie-rock, prog-rock.
“Patience is a virtue”, especially in stormy weather – perhaps the biggest takeaway from David Cloyd’s long-awaited indie/prog-rock album Red Sky Warning. With over 15 years in between this and his last release, we’ve had to stay patient, but of course great things come to those who wait. Find out why that’s never been more true below…
A Patient Comeback
Although David Cloyd has had somewhat of a hiatus in terms of releases for almost 15 years, he makes clear that he never stopped writing music over that time, just had a break in his release schedule. He also points out that even being once quite an impatient person, various life occurrences have made him practice patience much more. The two most prominent being his ascendence into fatherhood, and the technical challenges as well as expectations for this project that he and producer Blake Morgan held quite highly – this meant that although the project had been almost finished for some time, extra patience was needed to give it the full attention it deserved.
“At one point, I had an almost full recording of this album, but there were technical and production challenges that ultimately meant I wanted to start over. This material was a big step forward for me, and my producer Blake Morgan and I felt strongly that the recording had to rise to the occasion, so we made sure that ultimately it did.”
Navigating The Storms of Life
Opening track Ocean of Hours lays the overarching theme of patience brilliantly, as well as being a bold and atmospheric opener to ‘Red Sky Warning’…it certainly builds up and gives you the distinct feeling something big is coming. While reiterating an old maritime saying “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky morning, sailor’s warning.” David both alludes to the coinage of the album’s title, as well as giving a further description of the poignant themes explored in this song.
“This song is about how life is full of storms—you’re often heading into one, in the middle of one, or on your way out of one. The title of the album comes from the second verse—“And though we saw a red sky warning / It’s safer if we leave this morning.”
With becoming a parent bringing a welcomed storm to David’s life, he tells us in some ways it’s actually benefited his relationship with and approach towards songwriting, now being able to make faster decisions and adopting more patience by being able to walk away if it’s not the right moment to work on something. While revealing how this album’s release had been delayed, he beautifully expresses how he is now able to move forward through storms with purpose and clarity.
“I try to use love as my compass, even (and maybe especially) when it’s not the easiest way forward.”
And the crew members he credits as being hugely supportive of him and each other, is his label and creative collective ECR Music Group – citing them as vital beacons through the storms, and a great collective to be a part of.
“I’m lucky to be part of an incredible team at ECR Music Group. We are all in it for the music, and each one of us has unique strengths and we all lean on each other and prop each other up. It’s genuinely one of the most beautiful things in my life, that I’m never alone in my career.”
The Nitty Gritty of Red Sky Warning
Back to the music itself, the next notable track we absolutely loved not least because of the expert guitar plucking and beautifully delivered progressive vocal melodies, is The Day Before. Lyrics like “I build a tunnel there and search for more, then build a tunnel to the day before” are as emotionally evocative as David’s unpacking of the song – it’s both a response to Bill Withers’ songs that can make you cry while bobbing your head at the same time, and also a Black Mirror-esque adaptation of the 1980s romance Somewhere in Time.
“The idea of building tunnels to the past is so spooky and romantic. A part of me always wishes I could’ve met my wife earlier in life, but I also know it could never be early enough.”
In keeping with the maritime theme, this track drifts us away to a place of curiosity and nostalgia with currents of chord-progression and swaying strings in the background.
It is quite impressive how David has managed to weave all the emotive themes of this album together using maritime metaphors, one song that does this so cleverly is second from closing track Small Wooden Boat – a song about his evolving relationship with his wife, and metaphor for his acoustic guitar in which he’s partnered with for so long.
Young love never dies
It just gets wise
Floating in a small wooden boat
“That’s about my relationship with my wife, and how our love continues to evolve and deepen as we grow older together. But the “small wooden boat” is also a metaphor for my acoustic guitar, and how I’ve partnered with music and songwriting too, my whole life.”
After unpacking the lyrics above, David shares his belief that love either “evolves or dies”, and the longest sparks are ones where truth is faced with bravery.
As touched on earlier, the birth of David’s daughter was a big (if not primary) inspiration for Red Sky Warning. It’s no surprise to anyone, especially parents, that being a mother or father is likely to bring with it at least some stormy weather; but David thinks this element of parenthood is often ignored and not talked about enough – cue much of the material for this album.
“It’s a beautiful and rewarding experience, but people tend to not talk about how scary it is. The moment my daughter was born, a veil was lifted from this world, never to be put back. That new lens changed everything for me, made everything more terrifying, exciting, finite, and honest. So I looked at my life through this new lens, and this album is what I saw.”
Another atmospheric masterpiece, and probably our favourite song on the album, is Into The Sea. This is where the stormy metaphors and ominous intonations reach their peak – not least because of the opening lyrics “California is falling into the sea, open shorelines forming from the debris”, we can easily envision what multitude of metaphors and moments this is in reference to. In keeping with the meandering nature of this album, there are peaks and troughs, and this song follows both low and high tidal notes (no pun intended) as it carries you along.
Closing track Walk The Earth very much follows the meandering theme, bringing dark notes with interludes of uplifting melodies from David’s excellent vocal performances. Elegant harmonies and more than complimentary flurries of violins deliver an impactful ending to the album.
Having listened to this work in its entirety, I can certainly see the patient efforts of David and Blake’s production and composition in full effect – an utter triumph for David’s comeback after a period of silence.
A Changed Industry & Bright Future
When asked about how the industry had changed since his previous release, David didn’t have a whole lot of positive things to say, still believing that the real magic is in the music connecting artists and audiences, with the industry just an “unwelcome mediator”. This has made him cherish his involvement with ECR Music Group even more, a label collective that he says is “mainly interested in bringing great music and art into the world”.
“If you ask me, the music industry is more focused on money and less focused on art than ever before. Positive differences to 15 years ago are hard to find honestly. Things are not getting better for artists, unfortunately. I hold on to the fact that indie labels like ECR Music Group still exist, that keep the fire burning for great art. The industry will change again and again, but the art and the audience are eternal.”
Amongst a perhaps negatively evolving industry, David still finds much reason to stay optimistic and excited, given that his MIXTAPES concert series is starting up again this fall, as well as the fact he’s sitting on a large number of songs for a future album.
With so many string layers in Red Sky Warning, we can’t say we’re surprised that at this Buffalo concert series he will perform with national and local songwriters alongside a string quartet! But we can definitely say we’re excited.
It’s my favorite way to perform live music, and I could see myself doing some version of this forever.
David doesn’t give too much away about a future album just yet, but if you haven’t already listened to Red Sky Warning make sure to listen below, and go follow his socials to be in the know when he does drop a next album. There’s much to get excited about, but of course if there’s one thing this album and David himself have taught us, it’s to stay patient because good things come to hose who wait.
