Laura Kerry
In their new EP, Locket, Crumb is fixated on escape. “Recently Played” begins in a languid but repetitively catchy melody, a fitting backdrop for vocalist (and guitarist) Lila Ramani to sing about the same two songs stuck in her head and being paralyzed in routine. In “Locket,” she sings, “Need to clear my head and get out of the city / All alone in the jungle you'll find me.” And in the opener, “Plants,” Ramani again wants to flee monotony: “Tell me something sweet / When my day seems so long.”
Locket is itself the kind of escape that its lyrics seek. Counter to the immobility and monotony described in their album, the New York four-piece's music is expansive and breezy. Favoring elements of jazz and psych-rock, Crumb has created a dreamy, spaced-out landscape touching experimentalism but rooted in tight structures and solid musicianship.
On “Plants,” Ramani carries a jazz melody in her smooth and soulful voice over woozy guitars; “Recently Played” shifts from a sparse, ethereal waltz on the verse to a lofty, off-kilter chorus set in outer space; “Thirty-Nine” changes from reverb-soaked guitar arpeggios in the first half to a fuzzier, looser, and meandering psych-rock second half whose bass, organ, and guitar combo resembles The Doors; and “Locket” is built around keys but cycles through a surprising array of instruments—reeds, psychedelic synth, a deep drone. All four songs feel similarly wandering yet tight and grounded. Smooth, dreamy, and with just enough experimentation, Locket is something sweet after a long day.