Ready to be introduced (or reintroduced) to a veteran rock group that doesn’t mince words about their perceived view of the state of the world?
Indie-rock project Crumpler has been creating socially conscious rockers since forming in the ‘90s. The project began in Chicago, when Jacob Floyd Ross started experimenting with film and theater scoring.
According to a press release, “Jacob began Crumpler in Chicago in 1995 when he was commissioned to compose an original score for Tom Kiehfuss’ play, Stramonium: A Search For Grace. While Jacob’s been in several bands before — some who’ve gotten a lot of acclaim before, like Low Skies getting an 8.1 in Pitchfork back in 2006 — Crumpler has continued to be his primary songwriting and composing outlet for Jacob, both as a live act and for scoring…Crumpler’s music tends to sound like Nick Cave if he were to live in the desert.”
Ross now lives in LA, where he runs his own studio, Beltline Sound. It was there that he recorded his new surf-inspired album Evolution Is For Lovers, which is out October 23.
He was joined by a talented backing band of Tim Rutili of Califone on keys and vocals, Jon Steinmeier (Mavis Staples, Bobby Conn, Expandards feat. Wilco’s Mikael Jorgensen) on drums, Elizabeth Wakefield (Scout Gillett, Waax) on bass, and Ben Osborne (Lumpy & the Dumpers) on guitar.
Today, SWT is excited to premiere the music video for Crumpler’s song “Time To Die”, which matches its jarring message with its monochrome use or lack of use of color.
You can watch it below:
Here’s how Ross described the song to us:
“‘Free to Die’ is another example of what my father would call a ‘woke anthem.’ And only a bully could turn something like ‘waking up’ into a bad thing. This song is fundamentally about surviving an abusive relationship, which is not unlike surviving fascism. It’s hard to feel ‘free’ with the incessant threat of violence hanging over your head… whether you’re a street vendor, or a black teenager in a hoodie, a homeless person, or a woman seeking reproductive care, or a trans person seeking any form of care, or… a queer child in an abusive home. I found and continue to find hope in true friends, Mother Nature, and dreaming. But it’s crucially important to remember that the supremacists have a very different dream-life where death squads, concentration camps, and carpet bombing are ‘justice.’
On the music side of things, this was originally two different songs. The chorus was from an attempt to compose a protest song in the style of Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, and the verses came from an attempt to write a protest song in the style of The Cramps. And of course in the end it doesn’t sound like either of those bands, but I love where inspiration can lead us especially when we trust in the magic of collaboration.”
Color me awaken! Its engaging message and mystic sound has eager to check out the rest of the album.
You can connect with Jacob Floyd Ross and Crumpler in the links below:
- Website: Jacobfloydross.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/beltlinesound
- Bandcamp: Crumpler1.bandcamp.com
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
