Crumb is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band with four members, Lila Ramani (guitar, vocals), Jesse Brotter (bass, vocals), Brian Aronow (synthesizers, keyboards, saxophones), and Jonathan Gilad (drums). They have two EPs released, Crumb (2016), Locket (2017), and two studio albums, Jinx (2019), and Ice Melt (2021), all self-released. They foster a unique psychedelic style that is both relaxing and overwhelming, sonically smooth but cohesively dissonant, incorporating themes from jazz and indie-rock to create groovy, synthesized, hooks. Their latest album, Ice Melt, hone these themes, creating a more unnerving soundscape filled with low-key existential dread.
Candace Camacho, AKA duendita (name inspired by the poet Federico García Lorca’s description of the feeling when a piece of art makes your hair stand on end – duende) opened the show. duendita is a Queens-based soul and R&B singer heavily using modulation to echo her voice across the stage. Camacho soothes and wallows on classic themes of love, loneliness, oppression, and feminism while experimenting live with soundboards to change the feedback of her melodies. Her energy and enthusiasm was infectious, and she really set the mood for the rest of the night. This was my first time hearing duendita and she definitely piqued my interest. I highly recommend everyone check out her brief yet impressive discography as I think we’ll be hearing from her more in the future. I also really like when bands travel with their openers, as duendita is doing with Crumb, rather than local bands opening for traveling acts. When done right, as it was here, I find it creates a sense of cohesion between the entire show.
Though it wasn’t a sold-out show, it was near capacity in Cat’s Cradle for this Saturday night. Satisfying my biggest concert pet-peeve, Crumb did not make the crowd wait long after duendita closed her opener. It was a minimally designed stage layout, with the only decoration being some metallic/robotic flowers which would entrancingly open and close slowly throughout songs. Crumb played songs from throughout their discography, with the biggest reactions coming from older tracks from Locket and Jinx. They came out, and then maintained a high level of energy, particulary from bassist Jesse Brotter, who was frolicking around the stage and singing to tracks with a fervor (though I’m not entirely sure his mic was turned on). Each band member soloed throughout the show, which I always enjoy, especially when the solos aren’t on the studio versions. My personal favorite, which was also what drew the biggest roars from the crowd, came from the saxophone solos. Aronow, rocking a fit of white corduroys pants and a crop top, bleated out some incredible alto sax riffs. Although he is credited with saxophone on Crumb albums, it’s not heard nearly as clearly or given the free reign that Aronow had in this show.
Self-reported by Rimani, this was Crumb’s second time in the area (though she said they were happy to be in Chapel Hill, even though Cat’s Cradle is in Carrboro. I’ll let this one slide though). They seemed genuinely happy to be infront of the crowd, with no signs of tension, nervousness, or stress. Rimani, singing with her hauntingly-beautiful voice as per-usual, sat casually on stage at points as the Tufts University alums played through their high points. My favorite sequence of tracks was the 1-2 punch of Part III off of Jinx into Trophy off the newest Ice Melt, featuring my favorite saxophone solo of the night (have I mentioned I really like saxophones?) Some argue that Crumb’s music can blend together and it’s difficult to sonically distinguish between eras, but live, this creates the effect of a unique musical biome, encircling the venue, where you enter into the atmospheric world made by Rimani and company. This indie-rock aural environment spurs you to ignore the outside world, not in the hopes of finding inner enlightenment, but simply to relax.
Rating: 4.5/5
Favorite track: Trophy
