{"id":30782,"date":"2026-06-15T21:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T21:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/?p=30782"},"modified":"2026-06-15T21:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T21:53:14","slug":"crack-the-sky-principal-john-palumbo-releases-politically-conscious-solo-album-r-u-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/crack-the-sky-principal-john-palumbo-releases-politically-conscious-solo-album-r-u-science\/","title":{"rendered":"CRACK THE SKY PRINCIPAL JOHN PALUMBO RELEASES POLITICALLY CONSCIOUS SOLO ALBUM, R U SCIENCE?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

11 NEW SONGS INCLUDING THE TIMELY SINGLE \u201cICEMEN\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALBUM FEATURES CRACK THE SKY\u2019S JOE MACRE AND BOBBY HIRD<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AVAILABLE ON CD AND DIGITALLY<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELEASED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH PALUMBO\u2019S DEBUT NOVEL, SWIMMING THE CLEVELAND OCEAN<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visionary leader of Crack The Sky, John Palumbo<\/strong> returns under his own name with his boldest collection of songs yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R U SCIENCE?<\/strong> is a rallying cry grappling with the issues of today, from AI to ICE. Palumbo\u2019s trademark sarcasm is barely in evidence but his bite is stronger than ever in his unflinchingly direct lyrics. Different times demand different songs, and Palumbo meets the moment throughout the 11 new compositions on R U SCIENCE?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palumbo\u2019s voice \u2013 weathered, expressive, and unmistakably authentic \u2013 conveys his messages with conviction, intelligence, and heart. The album\u2019s full band arrangements feature Crack The Sky\u2019s Joe Macre<\/strong> (bass) and Bobby Hird <\/strong>(lead guitar and background vocals). Yet R U SCIENCE?<\/strong> establishes a distinct sonic identity with electronic elements developing an ominous mood befitting the times we are living through. R U SCIENCE? <\/strong>is an album for now, while instantly establishing itself as a highlight of Palumbo\u2019s voluminous discography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a songwriter, Palumbo has a gift for turning complex ideas into memorable music. \u201cIcemen\u201d<\/strong> addresses one of 2026\u2019s most contentious issues. \u201cI\u2019m not a white man. I am a brown man. That used to be okay. But not today. Here they come. They\u2019re coming for me,\u201d Palumbo intones. The arrangement creates an atmosphere of tension and urgency that perfectly complements the song\u2019s themes. Released as the first single from R U SCIENCE?<\/strong>, the \u201cIcemen\u201d<\/strong> lyric video has already been viewed 10K times on YouTube. Immigration topics return on \u201cBig House,\u201d<\/strong> written from three perspectives: a human smuggler, a migrant, and an ICE officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album\u2019s closing track is entitled \u201cI Catch Fire.\u201d<\/strong> Indeed, Palumbo may take heat from his more conservative fans. But John Palumbo refuses to play it safe. His songs have always been stories about obsession, belief, power, and the quiet damage people do to themselves and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simultaneously released is John Palumbo\u2019s novel, Swimming The Cleveland Ocean<\/em><\/strong>. As a novelist, Palumbo brings that same unflinching eye to the page. His fiction is dark, psychological and often unsettling, driven by characters who live just beyond the edge of comfort and control. The wit remains, but the melody is stripped away, leaving something rawer and harder to escape. The move from music to prose is not a departure, but an expansion. These are the stories that could never fit inside a song. Swimming The Cleveland Ocean is available on Amazon in paperback form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist John Palumbo has led progressive rock band Crack The Sky for over 50 years. The band\u2019s self-titled first album was declared 1975\u2019s debut album of the year by Rolling Stone<\/em> and ranked as one of Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2018s 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums in 2015. Major success was predicted for Crack The Sky. But due to persistent record label issues, the band never achieved a national breakthrough. Yet their popularity exploded in Baltimore, where Crack The Sky is acclaimed as The Beatles of Baltimore. Throughout Crack The Sky\u2019s existence, John Palumbo\u2019s quirky, edgy, smart songwriting proved constant as the band explored a diverse variety of sounds and styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palumbo launched a parallel solo career in 1978 and nearly scored a hit with 1985\u2019s \u201cBlowing Up Detroit\u201d (later covered by Charlie Sexton). He simultaneously began a songwriting partnership with Donnie Purnell of glam metal band Kix, co-writing the band\u2019s Top 10 power ballad, \u201cDon\u2019t Close Your Eyes.\u201d In the \u201990s he produced chart topping dance remixes for Yoko Ono and embarked on a wide variety of side projects including Cruel Shoes, Dogboy, Feed da Cat, and the Precious Brothers, while regularly recording and performing with Crack The Sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R U SCIENCE? <\/em><\/strong>(Iconoclassic Records ICON 1095)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Fear Is The Power<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. R U Science?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Vampires<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Icemen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. For Dear Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. The Evangelist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Days Of Our Lives<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Big House<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Another Gong<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. White Man<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. I Catch Fire

Produced by John Palumbo and R. Lee Townsend<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Palumbo: Guitar, Lead Vocals, Keyboards<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bobby Hird: Guitar, Background Vocals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Macre: Bass<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Max Victor Vacacerdo: Drums<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To purchase:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Label store: https:\/\/iconoclassicrecords.com\/album\/r-u-science\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent retail: https:\/\/recordstoreday.com\/upc\/990481102440<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon CD: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/R-U-SCIENCE-John-Palumbo\/dp\/B0GQ545YNT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon book: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Swimming-Cleveland-Ocean-John-Palumbo\/dp\/B0H1SC6FQ7<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website: https:\/\/crackthesky.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

YouTube: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/cracktheskychannel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/officialcrackthesky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cracktheskyofficial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

11 NEW SONGS INCLUDING THE TIMELY SINGLE \u201cICEMEN\u201d ALBUM FEATURES CRACK THE SKY\u2019S JOE MACRE…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[1502,125],"class_list":["post-30782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-news","tag-crack-the-sky","tag-prog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30782"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30784,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30782\/revisions\/30784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}