Jinx (Crumb album)

Jinx is the debut studio album by American pop band Crumb, released June 14, 2019.[1]

Jinx
Studio album by
Crumb
ReleasedJune 14, 2019 (2019-June-14)
StudioCrumb Records
Genre
Length27:22
LabelCrumb Records
ProducerCrumb
Crumb chronology
Locket
(2017)		 Jinx
(2019)		 Ice Melt
(2021)

Background

The album's titular "Jinx", about a curse which befalls the band, was inspired by a near death experience involving the band, when they were in a near fatal car accident in Montreal in 2018.[2] After the accident, several members of the band were injured and had to perform in casts.[3] The album was produced and released independently,[4] and was fully funded by listeners.[5]

Music

Composition

The album blends psych pop and indie rock.[6][7] Some of the album's tracks contain heavy jazz influences,[8][9] including keyboard riffs and minimal production effects.[10] It is also influenced by lo-fi music aesthetics, including synthesizers.[2] Rebecca Hammond of STGA, said that Ramani's vocals on the album are "a mix of grunge and indie", while the instrumentation evoked the psychedelic music of the 1960s.[11]

Lyrics

Lyrically, the album is mostly abstract with only loose storytelling.[10] However, many of its tracks focus on anxiety, fear of the unknown, and the uncanny aspects of mundanity.[2][4] Sophia Ordaz of Slant Magazine compared its disorienting atmosphere to Radiohead’s OK Computer album.[7]

Track listing

All songs composed by the members of Crumb.[12]

No.TitleLength
1."Cracking"1:51
2."Nina"3:20
3."Ghostride"2:06
4."Fall Down"2:53
5."M.R"3:37
6."The Letter"2:05
7."Part III"3:32
8."And It Never Ends"2:53
9."Faces"2:09
10."Jinx"2:41
Vinyl bonus track[13]
No.TitleLength
11."Better"2:40

Personnel
  • Lila Ramani – guitar, vocals
  • Jesse Brotter – bass, vocals
  • Bri Aronow – synthesizers, keyboard, saxophone
  • Jonathan Gilad – drums

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Albumoftheyear.org77/100[14]
Metacritic80[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork7.8/10[16]
Clash7/10[17]
Paste8/10[6]

On April 9, 2019, Crumb released "Nina", the lead single from Jinx, and announced the album's release in June. The music video for "Nina" was directed by Haoyan of America, and starred David Patrick Kelly.[18]

Critical reception

The album was met with generally positive reviews. Writing for Pitchfork, Ann-Derrick Gaillot said that it "[bends] indie rock and jazz influences to shape a clear-eyed perspective tinted amber with dirt."[16] Wilf Skinner of Clash called it "hard to dislike [...] also a tad hard to really love."[17]

Irene Monokandilos of Consequence of Sound praised the songwriting and instrumentation on the album, while commenting that the tracks could be somewhat indistinct, saying it "toes the line between a solid piece of work from start to finish and a 10-track blur."[19] The album's lead single "Nina" was praised for its composition and use of psych-rock influences.[20]

The album received a nomination for Best Indie Rock Album at the 2020 Libera Awards.[21]

References
  1. Moreland, Quinn (April 9, 2019). "Crumb Announce Debut Album Jinx, Share New Song "Nina": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  2. "Crumb Explore Anxiety On Their Hypnotic Debut Album, 'Jinx'". UPROXX. June 19, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  3. Fulton, Nick (June 11, 2019). "Crumb on breaking through music's weird digital frontier". i-D. Vice Media. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  4. "Crumb doesn't need a record label, thank you very much". Pacific San Diego. October 4, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  5. Jones, Sammy (June 14, 2019). "Crumb – 'Jinx' review". Crack. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  6. Todd, Harry (June 13, 2019). "Crumb: Jinx Review". Paste. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  7. Ordaz, Sophia (June 24, 2019). "Review: Crumb's Jinx Is a Psych-Rock Debut That's Hard to Shake". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  8. Handel, Kris (June 20, 2019). "Crumb – "Jinx" | Album Review". Post-Trash. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  9. "Ones To Watch". Ones to Watch. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  10. Dunn, Matthew (June 18, 2019). "Review: Crumb's Debut 'Jinx' Paves New Roads for Independent Music". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  11. "Crumb: Jinx | Surviving the Golden Age". June 25, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. "Crumb – Jinx". Allmusic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  13. Borthwick, Soleil Devyn (April 12, 2021). ""Trophy" wows". Basement Medicine. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  14. "Crumb – Jinx". Albumoftheyear.org. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  15. "Jinx by Crumb". Metacritic. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  16. Gaillot, Ann-Derrick (June 17, 2019). "Crumb: Jinx". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  17. Skinner, Wilf (June 17, 2019). "Crumb – Jinx". Clash. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  18. "Crumb – "Nina" Video". Stereogum. April 9, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  19. Monokandilos, Irene (June 12, 2019). "Crumb Play Snake Charmer to Mental Disquiet on Jinx". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  20. "Crumb Give a Trippy First Taste of Their Debut Album Jinx with New Single "Nina"". pastemagazine.com. April 9, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  21. Duffy, Thom (June 15, 2020). "A2IM's Libera Awards Go Virtual". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
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