crumb
… seconds, minutes, hours…
Red Ant
Don’t be frightened from crumb by the fact that the producer for their newest album likes a big production sound and has worked with Ratt and Warrant. Some bands know how to use the studio to create a sonically rich and very good album and, fortunately, crumb is one of them.
… seconds… is not a revelatory album with its straight-ahead rock sensibility, but it showcases a band that is comfortable with making a quality record out of basic components. This San Francisco-based quartet has hints of Dinosaur Jr., Weezer, Jawbox, the Replacements, and a harder-edged Connells in their sound.
Along with using the full range of the studio, crumb uses a rather large variety of guest musicians on this album. Ironically enough, Warrant’s Jani Lane lends some vocals to the mix for some reason. crumb gets some additional vocal and instrumental help from sisters Petra and Rachel Hayden of the late That Dog. Petra helps anchor a particularly sweet song, “Do You Remember,” that goes against the overall album’s sound with its simple acoustic guitar texture.
… seconds… is a very good album that actually works well as an entire album. There are plenty of good, fuzzy, pop-rock songs on this album, but crumb throws in a few slower tunes to keep it from becoming too monotonous. Next time someone tells you that lo-fi recording is the only way to go, whip out this album and stick it to `em. Red Ant Records, 904 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069
