Where Psychedelic Rock Meets Jazz.

By many younger listeners, jazz is considered to be dead, boring and over explored. However, like many relics of the past, the genre is very capable of coming back fresh and exciting with a little innovation. Crumb is a band doing a particularly good job with the task.

While not explicitly identifying as a jazz band, the group carries elements of the genre, likely stemming from several members’ past experiences playing in jazz, soul, and rock groups. In the gentle keys, soft guitar tone, swinging beats, and easy riding cymbal, the influence is easily registered. The track ‘Locket’ from their 2017 EP of the same name is perhaps the best example thereof.

Lila Ramani, lead vocalist, has a voice perfectly fitting the genre blend. Ramani met her fellow band members in college, where they played casually together before officially forming a band in 2016. Together, they recorded a series of songs written by Ramani during high school and college.

Having since released multiple EPs and albums, the band has a nice collection of songs to offer. The band has made excursions into different genres, particularly on the track ‘Balloon’ of their 2021 album Ice Melt, which experiments with interesting vocal effects and heavier instrumentals. While Crumb’s sound is unique and pleasing, however, it does seem to remain fairly constant throughout their years of playing. Hopefully, their next works experiment with fresh sounds.

Ultimately, the band showcases a wonderful talent as well as the rare ability to stick out (and stick out in a good way) amongst innumerable amounts of pleasing, yet uninteresting pieces of music. Recommended listening: Ghost Ride, Locket, Balloon, Vinta, Cracking.