#crumbsonthefloor

[thinkingaboutmusics]

Jinx by Crumb: A Review and Other Thoughts... (Opinion)

Seldom do I purchase a NEW vinyl record. I could purchase 10 second-hand records for the price of a single new record- economically, it makes no sense. An exception to this has been Crumb's debut album, Jinx. To tune-in to your favorite album on vinyl is a ritualistic experience. No other experience can top it. Jinx is an album that has that effect on me. 

I love Crumb for the very same reasons my parents hate them: they create sleepy, psych/indie rock. I don’t disagree that their songs are sleepy. On Jinx, “Cracking”, “M.R.”, and “And It Never Ends” are some particularly sleepy songs. And I think that that is the exact point. “And It Never Ends” is a song whose purpose is to put the listener in the same headspace as Lila Ramani (vocals and guitar), whose perspective the song is written from. She explains a tense feeling associated with living in a city. The groove of the song between Jesse Brotter (bass) and Jonathan Gilad (drums) is hypnotic, in tandem with Lila and Bri Aronow’s (keyboard/synth) wispy ear candies. Clearly there’s some purpose to the sleepy themes. 

A couple of songs off of Jinx that I’d argue are particularly good include “Ghostride” and “Part III”. While still filled with hazy meanderings, the two songs feature particularly good songwriting. “Ghostride” takes the listener through a metaphor for life as a boring car ride (https://genius.com/17400890). The music directly reflects that theme; Lila’s tone of voice is bored throughout most of the song, the repeated melodies and surrounding, peripheral, soundscape sparkles draw the listener into a trancy state. “Part III” includes lyrics which highlight similar themes of boredom and possibly dissociation. In the song, Lila sings, “I waste my time in the morning and evening / Caught in a feeling…” While these two songs remain my favorites, I think that “Ghostride” is a good example of a song that had more potential. The song lacked Bri Aronow in the same way that “Part III” highlights their role in the group. 

Another plus of owning Jinx on vinyl, is having their exclusive bonus track “Better”. The song was only officially released and available on CD, Vinyl, and cassette versions. “Better” features almost confused-sounding guitar melodies, yet maintains structure. This song, in my own opinion, scores lower on the sleepy-scale as compared to other songs on Jinx. It might be one of the only songs on the album that I find myself bobbing my head to. (And if I may correct myself in saying that this tops “Ghostride” and “Part III” for my favorite song on Jinx.)

Jinx will always have a special place in my ear and I appreciate its every song. I must, however, include a critical point related to musical variation. While I appreciate each song for what it is and what it’s about, I found many of the songs have similar themes and moods. This makes the listening experience a little less engaging than it could be. Nonetheless, Crumb delivers a far-more-than sufficient listening experience for all hungry ears. 

[evolvedlocd429liberated]

#ChilLaxN #SertaMemoryFoamLounger #CrumbsOnTheFloor #MommySpoilsMe (at Houston, Texas)