Crumbs second album, Ice Melt, takes its name from the coarse blend of salts that you can buy from your local hardware store for $9.99. When sprinkled on your wintry steps, this mixture absorbs water and gives off heat, transforming the ice into a viscous, briney slush and, eventually, nothing at all. Beginning with the dynamic chaos of Up & Down, and ending with Crumbs closest thing to a lullaby, Ice Melt s ten tracks combine, like ice sculptures melting into a glistening puddle.
From the start, the group knew that cohesion was best achieved through plumbing their individual strengths frontwoman Lila Ramanis earliest songwriting, which catalyzed the groups first two EPs; Bri Aronows knack for building (dis)affecting soundscapes; the hypnotic grounding of Jonathan Gilads drums, a Crumb mainstay; and Jesse Brotters distinctive bass playing, which subtly traces Ramanis vocal melodies while providing an unrelenting pulse. These collective skills make Crumb a project of independent self-discovery, four creative minds converging around an idea that is always shifting and reforming.
Convening in Los Angeles to work with producer Jonathan Rado, Crumb tapped into atmosphere-creation like never before, building experimental compositions that are at turns head-nodding and surrealist, energetic and euphoric. Ramani characterizes the album as a return back down to earth, a deeply felt examination of real substances and beings that live on this planet. It is also the cultivation of road-worn musicians exploring brand-new sounds and thematic concepts, pushing themselves into territory they could never have anticipated five years ago.
