Crimson Skies Reconnect Through Friendship and Nineties Rock on Four O’Clock Friends

After many years away, Crimson Skies have returned with Four O'Clock Friends, a four-track EP that brings the Netherlands-based rock band back together with a sound rooted heavily in nineties alternative rock and grunge. Recorded at IJland Studio in Amsterdam during June 2026, the EP brings together uptempo guitars, catchy choruses and influences the band themselves connect to R.E.M, Counting Crows and Pearl Jam. Across the four tracks, Crimson Skies focus on friendship, optimism, love and wonder while giving each song enough of its own character to keep the EP from sounding too repetitive. For four longtime friends, returning to the studio together after several years, Four O'Clock Friends feels especially fitting as a record that places friendship at the centre of the music.

The EP begins with "Four O'Clock Friends", a track that has the titular name that immediately places the focus on friendship as Crimson Skies narrates a story about the people who stay close even when life becomes difficult. The song incorporates elements of energetic guitars, a steady rhythm section and a memorable chorus that helps keep the song upbeat with lyrics talking about the importance of having people around who continue to show up when things in life become harder to navigate which gives the track a more personal feel without taking away from the upbeat tone created through the guitars and chorus. "One Handshake Away" then takes the EP into a more critical direction as the song takes a look at society, fame and the contradictions that can appear in the way people present themselves to others. The track still maintains a catchy, slightly retro feel through its guitars and steady rhythm but the lyrics add a sharper edge to it since Crimson Skies question how easily appearances, status and recognition can impact the way people connect with one another. Having this contrast is what makes the two songs stand apart from one focusing on friendship to another focusing more on the pressures and inconsistencies that can influence how people relate to each other, while both still stay connected through the EP's catchy guitars and nineties rock influence.

The second half of the EP becomes more emotionally direct with "Sorrow Street," where Crimson Skies turn their attention toward heartbreak, missed opportunities and the exhaustion that can follow when something important does not work out the way you had hoped. The song brings in more of a pop-punk attitude alongside its energetic guitar work, but there is still a sense of hope within the writing that stops the track from becoming completely weighed down by what has been lost. That combination gives "Sorrow Street" more tension than the track that came before it since the guitars make the song feel lively even though the lyrics deal with disappointment and emotional fatigue. It also shows another side of Crimson Skies' writing by allowing the heavier subject matter to stay close to the sound that still feels energetic instead of sounding completely subdued. "Marshmallow" closes the EP from a more introspective place as the lyrics deal with irritation, the need to feel understood and the possibility of affection slowly changing the way someone responds to those emotions. The image of someone gradually melting like a marshmallow gives that idea a more playful way of talking about vulnerability and change, which makes the song a fitting final track without simply repeating the emotional weight of "Sorrow Street."

What makes Four O'Clock Friends feel like more than just a return is how naturally Crimson Skies reconnect with the kind of rock that first brought the band together without making the EP feel like it's stuck in a different era. That sense of familiarity and connection can be heard in the guitars, the choruses and even the nineties influence with the writing giving the EP its own purpose as it focused on friendships, disappointments and changes that can still impact a person years later. Having this balance means that the EP can feel nostalgic without depending entirely on nostalgia to drive it, especially since the music comes from four longtime friends choosing to work together after a hiatus. In that sense, Four O'Clock Friends feels less like an attempt to revisit the past and more like Crimson Skies picking up something that still has meaning for them now.

Check out the release below and you can keep up with the band on Instagram here.